India Night 2020
India Night 2020 was postponed to October 2nd, 2021 due to COVID-19.
Life of Pie
The Regina Symphony Orchestra (RSO) kicked off its 2019-2020 season with a Masterworks concert featuring Canadian composer Mychael Danna’s Academy-Award winning score from the film Life of Pi.
The concert took place Saturday, September 21 at the Conexus Arts Centre at 7:30 pm – a new start time for the RSO this season. This first concert of the RSO’s 111th season was an eclectic program that also featured Debussy’s La Mer, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.
Based on the novel by Canadian author Yann Martel, the film, Life of Pi, is based in India and tells the story of a young boy Pi, the lone human survivor of a terrible shipwreck of a boat that was transporting his family’s zoo animals. Pi, who finds refuge on a lifeboat along with a Bengal tiger, must pass weeks and months learning to survive.
Martel was in attendance for a pre-concert chat at 6:45 pm, hosted by RSO concertmaster Christian Robinson.
The score for Life of Pi features a variety of traditional Indian instruments including the tabla (drums) and bansuri (flute). Thanks to a partnership with Cultural Connections Regina, several guest artists joined RSO Music Director Gordon Gerrard to accompany the orchestra on these traditional instruments. These guest artists include: Divyalakshmi Iyer, vocalist; Jatinder Parkash, bansuri; Shawn Mativetsky, tabla; and, Michael Bridge on accordion. Parkash,scored the bansuri part for the official soundtrack from Life of Pi, and also performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in its presentation of the Life of Pi score in 2015.
TICKETS: www.reginasymphony.com/concerts
December 2020
Farewell Ceremony for Goddess Annapoorna Statue Being Repatriated to India
Varanasi, India will soon get back an antique idol of the Goddess
Annapoorna, which was stolen over a century ago from a local shrine on the
banks of the Ganges River and found its way to the University of Regina.
The repatriation of the statue from the Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina
coincided with the beginning of World Heritage Week from November 19 to 25.
Kathak Ensemble- directly from India to Celebrate India’s Independence Day in Regina August 10, 2018
Cultural Connections Regina was proud to host the Sandip Mallick and Anuj Misra Kathak Ensemble on at the Shumiatcher Theatre ( McKenzie Art Gallery). This was part of India Independence day celebrations for this year. We were very fortunate to be able to bring such wonderful talent to Regina for an evening of beautiful and exciting dance.
Kutiyattam Dance Concert– July 14th, 2018
Regina, July 14, 2018 –We had the rare opportunity to see one of
the oldest forms of Sanskrit theatre on July 14th, 2018. in the Schumiatcher Theatre at the Mackenzie Art Gallery.
Koodiyattam dates back over 2200 years in the Indian state of Kerala.
Preserved for centuries by the temples, Koodiyattam has only very recently
emerged for public audiences.
Presentations combine dance and drama to tell stories from Hindu mythology.
Elaborate makeup requires several hours to apply.
Hosted by Cultural Connections Regina, the 12-member ensemble visited Regina
as part of a multi-city Canadian tour coinciding with its participation in
the World Sanskrit Conference taking place in Vancouver earlier this month.
Some media coverage of the event:
Cheque Presentation – Tuesday November 7th, 2017
A cheque presentation ceremony was held on Tuesday November 7, 2017 at North Central Family Center. A cheque for $100,000 was presented by the board of Cultural Connections Regina to Sandy Wankel, Executive Director and Founder of North Central Family Centre.
Tarangini – An Odissi Dance performance
OCTOBER 6, 2017
A multicultural evening of dance was presented at Conexus Arts Centre by Cultural Connections Regina. The evening featured dances by North Central Family Centre; Kolos Dance Academy; Maharlika Group. (First nations, Ukrainian and Filipino dance groups) as well as a renowned Odissi dance group from India called Tarangini. (brought as part of Canada 150 celebrations). It was an evening of thrilling dance art, celebrating the diverse reality of Canada today.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”41″ gal_title=”Tarangini”]
India Night 2017
September 30th, 2017, Ballroom, Delta Hotel, Regina
Our annual fundraising gala India Night 2017 was a huge success and completely sold out! Guests were treated to an evening of delectable Indian cuisine, graceful classical Indian dances, a scintillating First Nations dance and a memorable speech by the Honourable Harjit Singh Sajjan – Minister of National Defense. Greetings were brought by the Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Vaughn Solomon Schofield, and other local politicians.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”38″ gal_title=”India Night 2017-3″]
CHITRAVALI – a Classical Dance Performance
A Classical Dance performance by a visiting classical dancer with 5 musicians (as part of Canada 150 celebrations) was held on Friday August 18, 2017 at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum
All net proceeds went to the Hare Krishna Temple
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”23″ gal_title=”Chitravali Photos”]
CLASSICAL DANCE WORKSHOP
We had a well known Bharatnatyam dance artist, a visiting classical dancer, coming directly from India on August 18, 2017. She graciously agreed to do a worship in conjunction with New Dance Horizons, Regina to enhance & educate about the classical dance styles & music of India……
Official Launch Event – April 19th, 2017. Delta Hotel, Regina
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”22″ gal_title=”Media Launch Event”]
MEDIA ADVISORY
New Non-Profit Launches to Support Local Charities
REGINA, April 18, 2017 – Media are invited to attend a press conference to launch Cultural Connections Regina, a new non-profit with a goal of hosting high quality, inclusive cultural events and empowering grassroots charities.
When: 10 am, April 19, 2017
Where: Campania A, Delta Hotel, [address removed]
The following officials will bring congratulations:
- Hon. Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety
- Representative of the Provincial Government
- Leader of the Official Opposition
- Mayor Michael Fougere
Cultural Connections Regina will announce which local charity will be the beneficiary of its first fundraising event, the India Night Gala to occur September 30, 2017.