Bageshree Vaze is a versatile and multi-talented Indo-Canadian artist. As a dancer and choreographer, she strives to create and present work that reflects her cultural influences. She was initially trained in the style of Bharatha Natyam in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and also trained in Hindustani (North Indian) classical vocal music with her father, Dr. Damodar Vaze. After completing her Arangetram (graduation) in Bharatha Natyam, Bageshree received a fellowship from the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute to further her studies in India with the late Guru T.K. Mahalingam Pillai. After moving to Ontario in 1996, Bageshree began to create dance works which combined her knowledge of South Indian dance and North Indian music, and she explored collaborations between Indian dance and Western forms, such as ballet, modern and West African dance.

In 1998, Bageshree began training in the North Indian classical dance style of Kathak, with the living legend Pandit Birju Maharaj and his son Jai Kishan Maharaj. As this form uses Hindustani music, she was able to relate better to the rhythmic and musical language of this style, and has felt most comfortable choreographing and performing in Kathak. As a result, much of her work in recent years has drawn from the vocabulary of Kathak. Bageshree completed a Master’s degree in Dance from York University in 2000, and her final thesis was a choreography using Kathak language.