Co.ERASGA’s Undivided Colours bridges forms, from Bharatanatyam to Asian Flamenco, May 14 and 15
Marking Asian Heritage Month, the show at the Dance Centre features names like Kasandra La China, Andrea Nann, and Sujit Vaidya
(Left to right) Alvin Erasga Tolentino’s Offering (Yasuhiro Okada photo), Andrea Nann’s Firehorse and Shadow, and Kasandra La China.
Co.ERASGA presents Undivided Colours at the Dance Centre on May 14 and 15
DANCE ARTIST Alvin Erasga Tolentino has long made it his mission to help bridge cultures—part of the reason he was recently honoured with an Isadora Award.
Now, to mark Asian Heritage Month, the Filipino-Canadian artist is gathering a group of creators from the Asian diaspora for an evening of diverse dance, with the return of the aptly named Undivided Colours. The mixed program ranges from Bharatanatyam to Asian Flamenco.
Co.ERASGA itself presents two solo works from Offering, featuring Tolentino and Marc Arboleda in a serene prayer for the world and humanity.
Elsewhere, Andrea Nann, of Dreamwalker Dance, presents her Firehorse and Shadow, exploring the spirit of the Horse figure and the shifting elements of fire, earth, metal, water, and wood. Themes include transformation and cycles.
Bharatanatyam master Sujit Vaidya, meanwhile, presents Ram Gopal, a solo about the intersection of memory, inheritance, and authorship, in an Indian classical dance work that pays tribute to gurus, time, and the divine.
The program also features Kasandra La China’s powerful flamenco in United Elements. In it, she explores uniting the fragmented parts of ourselves through the metaphorical process of combining dance, movement, voice, and sound.
And Victoria’s Bayanihan Creative Collective, a newly formed performance ensemble, presents excerpts from Maria Cacao: Ang Pagbawi (The Restoration). The work blends theatre and dance, exploring mythology, the struggle against climate disasters, and the theme of endurance. 
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