GITANJALI KOLANAD
Gitanjali Kolanad is a bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, and teacher, who has used kalari as part of her training technique for more than twenty years. She has also taught kalari as a martial art in its own right for the past six years; in workshops with: the Drama Department at the University of Toronto, the Omaha Yoga School's summer retreats in Colorado and Utah, the India School in Winnipeg, Milan Sladek's mime students in Bratislava, and at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto. Gita's recent performance work has integrated South Indian folk and ritual forms of dance-theatre and kalari. Gita has presented lecture-demonstrations and workshops on Indian dance in schools and colleges in Canada, the United States, Europe, Japan and Singapore. She is the author of Culture Shock! India, now in its third edition, and of numerous articles on various aspects of Indian dance for well-known Indian publications, such as India Magazine and Sruti. Gita co-founded IMPACT in December of 2006.
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ANDREW SURI
Andrew Suri has studied banethi since 1999, reaching the level of instructor at the banethi akhara – Channu Lal Vyayamshala – in Varanasi, India. Andrew has taught banethi to youth in India, and to many young performance artists in Toronto. From 2006 to June 2010 Andrew served as Artistic & Managing Director and co-founder of IMPACT. Through movement-based arts and filmmaking, Andrew's goal has been connecting people from diverse cultural traditions through shared artistic exploration. Andrew has also received recognition as a photographer and emerging filmmaker. He is an OAC Chalmer’s Professional Development Grant recipient and studied banethi story-telling traditions in India. Andrew co-founded IMPACT in December 2006.
