Fall For Dance North - KATHAK & BALLET: Signature Programme 3

Unfortunately, due to illness, I’ll be missing the closing signature program of this year’s Fall for Dance North festival. Still, I wanted to share a quick preview of the final show in the series and a few thoughts on the festival overall. KATHAK & BALLET: Signature Programme 3, co-curated with Toronto-based Kathak dancer and choreographer Tanveer Alam, closes out the season following Afrofusion: Signature Programme 1 and Homegrown: Signature Programme 2. This final program continues the festival’s throughline of collaboration and exchange, but this time uniquely brings two classical traditions into conversation.

This series in the festival alternates between Kathak and Ballet performances. Highlights include Shivo-Aham – An Ode to the Soul, choreographed and performed by Dheerendra Tiwari, which takes inspiration from Advaita philosophy and the concept of Shiva as the eternal, unbounded consciousness that exists within all beings. Another work, Chaturang ki Chaupal, choreographed by Nad-Roop, takes inspiration from Chaupal, an ancient game of dice, using it as a metaphor for life’s interplay of fate, chance, and rhythm. Dancers move through four majestic ragas from the Hindustani classical repertoire, Yaman, Bhairavi, Jaijaiwanti, and Adana, each shifting in tone and energy while maintaining the intricate structure of Kathak tradition.

These pieces alternate with performances by The Royal Ballet, Britain’s flagship classical company and one of the most influential ballet institutions in the world. Returning to Toronto for the first time in fifty years (and only after a handful of appearances before that), the company performs a selection of solos and pas de deux, including The Dying Swan and Kenneth MacMillan’s Winter Dreams Pas de Deux, danced by principal artists Melissa Hamilton and Ryoichi Hirano.

I’m disappointed to be missing this program, but I encourage you to catch the final performance today at 2:00 p.m.—and let me know what you think!

Overall, it has been a really successful season for Fall for Dance North. Compared to last year’s tenth-anniversary celebration, this one felt a bit more scaled down, but in a way that worked. The focus was clearly on the dancing itself rather than the extras: fewer long speeches, no pre-show slideshows or behind-the-scenes videos, just strong and thoughtfully curated performances. The Bluma Appel Theatre feels like the right home for the festival as it’s intimate enough to feel connected, yet large enough to bring in a full and excited crowd. Across the three signature programs, the programming was well-balanced, highlighting both Canadian and international artists and giving local talent a real platform. Great work from the festival’s new co-leaders and the entire Fall for Dance North team.

Fall for Dance North continues to be one of the most exciting and accessible ways to experience dance in Toronto. If you haven’t attended before, make sure to add it to your calendar next year and support this important festival that keeps dance thriving in Canada.

KATHAK & BALLET: Signature Programme 3, presented by Fall for Dance North, runs until October 25th, 2025, at the Bluma Appel Theatre (27 Front St E, Toronto, ON). Single tickets are $25. Tickets can be purchased online here. The festival also offers a variety of free and ticketed dance events continuing through October 26th.

For more information, check out: FFDnorth.com
Facebook: @fallfordancenorth and Instagram and Twitter: @ffdnorth

Written by Deanne Kearney
DeanneKearney.com @deannekearney