Nova Bhattacharya

🪔 About

Nova Bhattacharya is an award-winning dancer, choreographer, and cultural leader based in Toronto, Canada. Born in Halifax in 1968 and raised in Toronto, she began her Bharatanatyam training at the age of seven with Dr. Menaka Thakkar, an internationally renowned dancer, choreographer, and teacher. She further specialized in the Indian dance technique Abhinaya with Smt Kalanidhi Narayanan and studied a select repertoire with the legendary Guru Kittappa Pillai, as well as with Canadian dance artist and scholar Hari Krishnan. Bhattacharya founded Nova Dance in 2008, serving as its Founder and Artistic Director. Her work is recognized for its innovation within Bharatanatyam, integrating improvised movement and gesture, and reinterpreting traditions to tell new stories. She began choreographing in 1997, and her critically acclaimed works have been presented across Canada, in Germany, India, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Uganda. Her choreographic commissions include DanceWorks, Canada Dance Festival, and Toronto Dance Theatre, among others. Bhattacharya is also a writer, consultant, mentor, and an active participant in discussions concerning dance, art, diversity, and inclusion within the Canadian arts community. Awards & Honours: Eldred Family Dance Award (2021), Women Achiever Award (2019), Pink Attitude Game Changer Award (2018), Summerworks Outstanding Direction Award for Broken Lines (2016), Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award for outstanding artistic achievement in dance (2012), Manasumanjali Award for Dance (1997).