Param des Arts will present the 11th edition of Montreal Natyanjali, a vibrant showcase of Indian classical dance. The performance brings together accomplished artists from across Canada and the United States, offering audiences a celebration of the diversity of this beautiful discipline. Inspired by the centuries-old tradition of Natyanjali, where dancers offer their art as a tribute, Montreal Natyanjali 2026 continues to showcase the grace, rhythm and storytelling of Indian classical dance forms which include Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Odissi and Kathak. The event is on Sat. March 28 at 3:30 pm at College Ahuntsic.
Building on a decade of success in Montreal, the 11th edition of Montreal Natyanjali 2026 marks an evolution in the festival’s scope. In addition to showcasing dance artists, the event now features live musicians, creating an integrated presentation of classical Indian performance traditions. This expansion brings dancers and musicians together, fostering stronger connections, greater opportunity for creative expression, and showcases a wider range of artistic skills that garners appreciation from fellow artists and art lovers across North America.
“Eleven years of Montreal Natyanjali is a testament to the dedication of our artists, audiences and community,” said Deepa Nallappan, artistic director of Param des Arts. “ This milestone reaffirms our commitment to cultural appreciation, artistic collaboration, and promoting Indian classical dance in Canada while fostering deeper connections within the artistic community in Montreal.”
Every year, Montreal Natyanjali hosts and honours a veteran Indian classical dancer; a highly accomplished senior artist who has contributed significantly to arts and culture in North America. This year’s festival will feature a performance with Usha Gupta, a renowned dancer based in Edmonton—a rare sight to behold. Her students will present her iconic work, including a piece that is a confluence of different dance styles including Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Odissi.
Montreal Natyanjali 2026 features multiple collaborations with dancers and musicians, setting the stage alight with emerging artists and dedicated dance institutions, each presenting unique interpretations of India’s rich cultural heritage. The highlight of the festival is the development of deep connections between the dance and music communities—two elements intrinsically linked at the heart of performing arts. The Montreal Natyanjali 2026 stage will host local Montreal artists, artists from neighboring provinces, as well as the USA, embodying the event’s mission to unite people in the celebration of dance.Info: www.montrealparam.ca/param-des-arts
ALAN DOYLE: Beloved Canadian music icon Alan Doyle, one of the busiest touring artists for more than three decades, has begun an extensive 42-date tour that will take him across Canada and the U.S. On Friday, March 13 he will perform at the Olympia. Joining Doyle, on all his Canadian dates, is the JUNO award-winning PEI folk duo, The East Pointers.
Doyle has just released hs new EP, Already Dancing. The foot-stomping, fiddle-fueled first single Nancy features The East Pointers. “New Tunes! New Tour! “ says Doyle.
Doyle recently performed in the musical Tell Tale Harbour at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatr. Based on the screenplay The Grand Seduction by Ken Scott, and co-written by Doyle, Tell Tale Harbour made its Toronto debut in September after a smash-hit sell-out run at Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown, PEI.
Alan Doyle
Meanwhile, Doyle also released his fourth book, The Smiling Land: All Around the Circle in My Newfoundland and Labrador, a rollicking insider’s guide to the province. Few Canadian musicians are as synonymous with their home province as Doyle is to his – and even fewer once worked as tour guides. In The Smiling Land, he reprises his tour-guiding role to welcome the rest of Canada to his home and take readers on an adventure: a freewheeling road trip through Newfoundland, its history and its culture.
Info: olympiamontreal.com
THE STEWART RUBIN REPORT: Côte Saint-Luc’s Stewart Rubin shares with us this week his interview with young singer Rachel Dara, who lives in the same community. Rubin, lead singer for Daylite Vampires, calls Dara a “Montreal Folk Sensation” and they spoke about her March 6 single release and rising career. So I will let Rubin take it from here.
Folk music is traditional music that belongs to a particular culture or group of people. Most folk music includes singing accompanied by musical instruments. It is music created by ordinary people within a culture—songs that have been played and passed from one person to another for generations.
This week I had the pleasure of interviewing singer-songwriter Rachel Dara, who composes folk songs about her life or stories that she wants to tell defining her generation.
Rachel is an exceptional composer whose songs pull you into her world and leave you reflecting long after the last note fades. Her voice carries echoes of Joni Mitchell, while the spirit and lyrical depth of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen seem to live within her storytelling.
A native of Montreal and only 19 years old, Rachel possesses an old soul that reveals itself in every lyric she sings. During our conversation it quickly became clear that this remarkable creator of what she calls alternative folk is destined for great things.
Last year she released her debut album “The Next Big Invention,” produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Mark Howard. On March 6 she released her latest single, “In the Darkness.” The song is chilling and deeply personal, inspired by a traumatic moment when she found herself locked in a stairwell at just 13 years old.
Listening to it on the day of its release, I was struck by its powerful and haunting undertone. The drumming by Daniel Maclean is riveting, driving the emotional weight of the track. The song itself carries that unmistakable Leonard Cohen atmosphere as the listener dives deeper into the lyrics and the meaning behind them.
Rachel Dara
Rachel’s musical journey began remarkably early. At the age of six she created the first draft of a song, and by nine she had written her first complete composition. Now playing guitar for ten years, she initially took a few lessons with Josh Goldman before ultimately teaching herself much of what she knows today. Goldman has since reunited with Rachel to produce her latest single and performs alongside her on bass, while drummer Daniel Maclean completes the trio.
One of the more touching moments in Rachel’s musical story happened while she was playing in Montreal West. A gentleman passing by stopped to listen and later gifted her a Martin D-28 guitar. He explained that he could no longer play because it hurt his fingers and wanted the instrument to go to someone who would truly appreciate it. By all accounts, it found the perfect home.
While folk music clearly runs through her veins, Rachel isn’t limiting herself to one style. During our interview she revealed that she will also be releasing two pop singles later this year, showcasing yet another side of her creative range.
Her talent has already begun receiving international recognition. In 2023 she won Best International Female Music of the Year award as the Rising star for her song “Eighteen” at the International Singer-Songwriters Association Awards Gala in Atlanta. Since 2025 Her tally presently sits at 3 awards at this gala.
Despite the growing attention, Rachel remains grounded and humbled by the response to her music. Over the coming year she will be appearing at various festivals and events, continuing to share her voice and stories with audiences everywhere.
For more information, visit racheldara.com.
To see the full live interview, head to daylitevampires.com and watch Interview with a Vampire.
FILM FESTIVAL: The world’s largest festival dedicated to art films and films about art invites you to theatres in Montreal and Quebec City from March 12 to 22 and online from March 20 to 29. You can come discover the best of art films with a program that transcends the boundaries of imagination and explores the heart of our questions. The 44th edition of the Festival will open with Mon amour : c’est pour le restant de mes jours by André-Line Beauparlant (Canada) in a world premiere. Screened in theatres on Thursday, March 12, at the Monument National in Montreal in the presence of the director, Robert Morin, and the film crew, it will also open the FIFA in Quebec City on Friday, March 13, at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ).
For example, My Armenian Phantom by Tamara Stepanyan, Fantastique by Marjolijn Prins, Viktor by Olivier Sarbil, and more. And then there are also the films we are presenting as world premieres, such as Mon amour, c’est pour le restant de mes jours by André-Line Beauparlant, and Ça reste entre nous. The latter, the first feature film by Iranian filmmaker Maryam Shapoorian, illustrates our desire to act as a watchdog for the cinema of tomorrow, a cinema that listens to new voices. Voices that are part of a world where power dynamics are more apparent today than ever before: Firas Shehadeh’s Palestinian film Like an Event in a Dream Dreamt by Another—Insomnia, which deals with the issue of the agency of oppressed peoples, and Gregor Braendli’s documentary Elephants & Squirrels, which focuses on the challenges of restitution, are just a few examples.
Eight prizes will be awarded by the juries: the Grand Prize, the Jury Prize, the Best Essay Prize, the Best Portrait Prize, the Best Short Film Prize, the Best Canadian Work Prize, and the Best Canadian Short Film Prize.
Le FIFA will also present a tribute award to Jacinthe Brisebois.
Info: https://lefifa.ticketpro.ca/en/pages/FIFA
TUPQAN IN ENGLISH: Tupqan | Our interior territories, will play at the Jean Duceppe Theatre in Montreal until April 4. There will be a performance with English subtitles on March 20.
It is a collective work born from the meeting between First Nations artists from seven nations (Innu·es, Kanien’kehá:ka, Mi’gmaq, Atikamekw, Gitxsan, Wendate and Wolastoqey) and three companies (it was created to mark the 40th anniversary of Ondinnok). The text is by Dave Jenniss and Xavier Huard, and Soleil Launière directs. The synopsis goes as follows. Three decades have passed since the theft of the wampum, a sacred object and symbol of cohesion for the small fictional community of Whitefish. However, this departure coincides with the disappearance of one of its members. Is there a connection between these two events? This is the question that has haunted Polam since he allowed himself to be persuaded by his cousin and his best friend to run for the leadership of the band council. As he is thrust into the media spotlight in his village, the political tension between clans takes on dangerous proportions. Finding the wampum could help Polam win the election, even bring peace to Whitefish. But this quest will transform him in an unexpected way, when the beaded belt appears to him in a dream and takes on a deep spiritual dimension linked to his family’s past. This is being described as a political thriller with spiritual resonances, which stars Kevin Deer, Sylvie Drapeau, Sharon Fontaine Ishpatao, Saulnia Jean-Pierre, Jeanne Moreau-Vollant, Ines Talbi, Étienne Thibeault and Alexia Vinci.
Info : https://duceppe.com/tupqan/
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