Artists in the Library WORKSHOP

Carmen Romero (Flamenco dance)

www.carmenromero.ca

Carmen Romero is and established flamenco dance artist with over forty years of experience in performance, educating, production and adjudicating in dance for all levels of government arts councils. Carmen Romero is the Artistic Director of Compañía Carmen Romero and the School of Flamenco Dance Arts based in Toronto, Canada, founded 1992.  Her motto, “Discover your passion” describes her work well. Known for creating a foundation for teaching flamenco as a language of expression that gives participants the tools to train the mind body and soul to discover their personal best. As a dancer she has an innate ability for improvisation in the flamenco form and pushing the edge with confidence in her craft. Creation and choreography are an integral part of Carmen Romero’s exploration of the mind, body and spirit in space and time. She earned a Dora Nomination in 2003 for Best Choreography for her production CARMEN COMPLEX. In 2017 her production won the Dora Award for Best Sound Design in dance where she collaborated with Musical director Benjamin Barrile to create the sound environment for JACINTO. Carmen Romero works within the financial structure as an independent artist and has coached and produced more than twenty professional flamenco artists’ who have gone on to create their own professional artistic paths and are currently working in Canada and abroad. Carmen Romero is a recipient of the K.M Hunter Emerging Artists Award as well as a 2013 finalist for the Muriel Sherrin Award for International Achievement in Dance administered from the Toronto Arts Foundation. Highlights of Carmen Romero’s career include coaching Latin Pop star “Shakira” in her 2010 Sale el Sol world tour. 

Sina Bathaie (Iranian Santur) 

www.sinabathaie.com

Sina Bathaie is a Santur player based in Toronto and is known for his unique style and approach toward Persian contemporary music. His hypnotic performances have garnered him fans from across the globe. Sina has appeared on International conferences such as Pacific Contact, CINARS, Mundial Montreal and Folk Music Ontario, and featured at Festivals such as Luminato, Prismatic Festival, Aga Khan Museum, Fete de la Musique Mont Tremblant, as well as TV and radio appearances at CP24 and CBC Radio Metro Morning and Big City Small World Sina developed his own style of music through music residencies and artistic collaborations and achieved a unique sound in world fusion music with his ensemble that includes Cello, Guitar, Bass, Percussion and Santur. His latest album Ray of Hope was released on Windcatcher Records in 2017 and was nominated for Best World Music Album of the Year in 16th annual Independent Music Award in NYC. His debut album Sound of Silence was released in 2012 and received warm critical acclaim. Born in Iran, Sina started learning Santur at the age seven from his father, Master Javad Bathaie and studied Persian classical repertoire (Radif) with the instrument Oud. He later studied Composition and Orchestration for Films at Berklee College of Music and has scored movies such as The Horse Latitudes, Un royaume déménage, Ameno and Mr Settled Immigrant.

Emilie Andree-Jabouin (African-Caribbean-Canadian dance)

www.emirj.ca

Emilie Jabouin is a dance artist, researcher and creator of Emirj Projects. She uses Haitian folk drumming, song and dance to share stories of Black Canadian history. She is also writing her doctoral dissertation on Black women writers, organizers and journalists of the early 20th-century in Canada, which will be integrated in her future performance work.

Kristian Gusho (Albanian, electric violin)

Kristian Gusho is a violinist from Albania. He began playing at the age of 6 and has worked on luxury cruise ships and has performed with big music names such as the Gypsy Kings. 

Vineet Vyas (North Indian drumming)

www.vineetvyas.com

Vineet Vyas is one of Canada’s dynamic musical talents. He is a disciple of the legendary Tabla maestro, Pandit Kishan Maharaj.  Vineet was born into a family of traditional musicians of India, his grandfather Pandit Brahmanand Vyas, was a renowned vocalist and initiated him into Hindustani classical music at the age of five. Vineet has been an active performer in the Canadian music scene since the World Exposition 1986, Vancouver, BC. He began studying with Pandit Kishan Maharaj in 1987 in the traditional style of guru-shishya parampara. After intense training and sadhana (dedication) to his guru, Vineet firmly established himself as an accomplished tabla artist.  Audiences are enthralled as they witness and feel the depth of his musicality, spontaneity, and creativity. Vineet has performed at many prestigious venues and festivals throughout India and across North America with some of India's eminent classical artists such as Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Ustad Aashish Khan, Ustad Shahid Parvez and Dr. L Subramaniam. His solo CD, Taalworks, was a breakthrough album featuring tabla at the forefront, and was released in India through Times Music. The CD has received much critical praise from the both press and musicians in India and internationally. In 2010, his solo album The King of Dhamaar – a Tribute to Pandit Kishan Maharaj, received an East Coast Music Award nomination for Best World Recording. Vineet was featured in the Bravo! Channel’s documentary ‘Fingers of Fire’. Vineet holds an MFA in World Percussion from the California Institute of the Arts. In 2015 and 2019 Vineet was a finalist for the Muriel Sherrin Award - International Achievement Finalist presented by the Toronto Arts Foundation. 

Bageshree Vaze (Indian classical dance)

www.bageshree.com

Bageshree Vaze is an Indo-Canadian dance artist and musician. Raised in St. John’s, NL, Bageshree initially trained in Bharatha Natyam, and studied vocal music with her father, Damodar Vaze. She later trained in Kathak dance with Jai Kishan Maharaj in New Delhi, and studied vocal music with the renowned Veena Sahasrabuddhe. As a vocalist, Bageshree has five CDs to her credit, including Tarana, an album of music for Indian dance, which was released in India by Times Music under the name Khanak. In 2004 Bageshree was named an MTV India ‘rising star’ and in 2010 she was awarded the K.M. Hunter Award in Dance. Bageshree has created/choreographed numerous Kathak dance works and has performed in major festivals in Canada and abroad, such as the CanAsian International Dance Festival, the ‘Vasantotsav’ festival in New Delhi, Joshua Tree Music festival in California, and the Canada Dance Festival. Her 2019 production ‘A Hidden Princess’ was nominated for 3 Dora Mavor Moore Awards including Outstanding Performance by an Individual, Outstanding Sound Composition and Outstanding Production, and Bageshree was a finalist for the 2019 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Awards. Bageshree has lectured and taught dance through the University of Toronto, Indiana University and the World Dance Alliance. Bageshree has a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Carleton University and a Master’s in Dance from York University.