Pratibha Arts is an organization dedicated to enhancing the arts landscape of Ontario and Canada to reflect its cultural diversity, presenting in particular dance and music forms originating from South Asia. Since 2011, it has been commissioned to produce works for presenters such as the Canada Dance Festival and the Aga Khan Museum, and has presented its works in festivals such as the Canada Dance Festival. In 2022 it garnered 5 Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations for its production ‘Sadhana/Tarana’ and won the Award for Outstanding Original Sound Composition in the Dance Division by Bageshree Vaze and Vineet Vyas. www.pratibhaarts.com

Bageshree Vaze is an Indo-Canadian dance artist, musician and writer. Bageshree initially trained in Bharatha Natyam, and studied vocal music with her father, Damodar Vaze. She later trained in Kathak dance with Jai Kishan Maharaj in New Delhi, and studied vocal music with the renowned Veena Sahasrabuddhe. As a vocalist, Bageshree has five CDs to her credit, including Tarana, an album of music for Indian dance, which was released in India by Times Music under the name Khanak. In 2004 Bageshree was named an MTV India ‘rising star’ and in 2010 she was awarded the K.M. Hunter Award in Dance. Bageshree has a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Carleton University and a Master’s in Dance from York University. Bageshree was recently named Dance Collection Danse’s inaugural Artist Researcher-in-Residence. Bageshree is the Artistic Director of Pratibha Arts. Bageshree is the 2022 co-recipient of the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Original Sound Composition in the Dance Division. www.bageshree.com

Vineet Vyas is a disciple of the legendary Tabla maestro, Pandit Kishan Maharaj. Vineet has performed at many prestigious venues and festivals throughout India and across North America with some of India’s eminent classical artists such as Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Ustad Aashish Khan, Ustad Shahid Parvez and Dr. L Subramaniam. His solo CD, Taalworks, was a breakthrough album featuring tabla at the forefront and was released in India through Times Music. In 2010, his solo album The King of Dhamaar – a Tribute to Pandit Kishan Maharaj, received an East Coast Music Award nomination for Best World Recording. Vineet holds an MFA in World Percussion from the California Institute of the Arts. In 2015 and 2019 Vineet was a finalist for the Muriel Sherrin International Achievement in Music award presented by the Toronto Arts Foundation. Vineet just released his 3rd solo Tabla album, Satyam. Vineet is the 2022 co-recipient of the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Original Sound Composition in the Dance Division. www.vineetvyas.com