Gauri Athley

🪔 About

Gauri Athley began her dance journey with Kathak training during her upbringing in India. Her professional pursuit of dance led her to explore modern dance, culminating in an MA in Theatre and Dance from the University of New Mexico, USA, where she was honored with the Fine Art's Finest and the Brian Hansen Fellowship. Furthering her education, she is also an alumna of The School of Toronto Dance Theatre and holds a PhD in Dance Studies from York University. As a versatile dancer and choreographer, Gauri has showcased her Kathak and contemporary works across India, the U.S.A., and the U.K. She has collaborated with notable artists such as Sarah Chase, Elizabeth Chitty, Vidhyanidhee Vanarase, and Susie Burpee, presenting works at prestigious events including the Kalanidhi Festival, Shared Habitat Festival, Nuit Blanche (Toronto), and the London International Theatre Festival. In 2007, she presented her evening-length solo production, "Between Compromise and Balance," in Pune, India. Her choreographic endeavors in Toronto include presentations at Series 8:08, Eros, Thanatos and the avant-garde, Coexisdance, and Masala, mehndi, masti. Gauri was also commissioned twice by Majlis Multidisciplinary Arts for choreography and performance. As part of her doctoral dissertation at York University, she presented an evening-length contemporary dance production titled "The Storyteller and (The Sparrow and The Crow)," performing both "The Storyteller" (self-choreographed) and "The Sparrow and the Crow" (choreographed by Michelle Silagy). Her teaching experience spans contemporary dance, Kathak, and yoga, delivered independently, at Majlis Multidisciplinary Arts, and at York University. She has also served as a guest faculty member at The Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and The School of Performing Arts, FLAME, Pune. Gauri has contributed to dance scholarship by presenting papers at conferences such as the Canadian Society for Dance Studies, the Graduate Conference in Translation Studies, and the annual international conference of the Indian Society for Theatre Research. Awards & Honours: Fine Art's Finest, Brian Hansen Fellowship.