Natasha Bakht
dancer

Natasha Bakht is an Indian contemporary dancer and choreographer trained in bharata natyam under Governor General’s Performing Arts laureate Menaka Thakkar. Described as “a brilliant diamond” (Dance Current), a “powerhouse” (Hindustan Times), and “all honed to the bone elegance and precision” (Vancouver Sun), Natasha has performed in celebrated venues around the world with the Menaka Thakkar Dance Company, Shobana Jeyasingh Dance and Sinha Danse. She is an award-winning artist (Dora Award nominations, 2003/2010; K.M. Hunter Artists Award, 2008; finalist Ottawa Arts Council Mid-Career Artist Award, 2018; finalist, Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize, 2021, Order of Ottawa, 2022). Natasha’s choreography includes solos and group works commissioned by several companies and festivals. She is a founding member of the Ottawa Dance Directive and has published and given lectures examining Canada’s history and contemporary practice with racialized and Indigenous artists. Judith Mackrell of The Guardian noted, “…the combination of delicacy and power, reserve and boldness, assertion and grace in her dancing speak not only of her own history but of a whole changing art form.”

For Peggy Baker Dance Projects: Natasha performed Krishna’s Mouth with cellist Anne Bourne for the 2018 concert Map by Years.