Premiere Dance Presentations featuring KINAJ + Atri Nundy at Assembly Hall

Premiere Dance Presentations featuring KINAJ and Atri Nundy as part of the Lakeshore Dance Series

Encounter an elevated arts and culture experience this fall through a presentation of two new compelling dance works in one exhilarating programme: CON - Vietnamese for "child" by KINAJ and Unrequited by Atri Nundy, plus special appearances by dancers from Sync&Flow and Sampradaya Dance Academy.

Culminating their two-year Process+Practice residencies at Assembly Hall, KINAJ and Atri Nundy will present new choreographic works as part of the Lakeshore Dance Series! This shared programme celebrates Asian diasporic artists as they express stories of love, family, social expectations, tragedy and inner strength. Both works use compelling physicality to evoke nuanced emotional complexity; inviting audiences to experience the power of live performance through Bharatanatyam, Hip-Hop and Contemporary dance:

CON — Vietnamese for "child" is a new dance work by KINAJ about the weight and warmth of what is carried between generations within a family — the parent who survived war and scarcity to give their children another life, and the children now learning what it means to carry that debt forward, in love rather than repayment. Shaped by a creative process marked by illness, anticipatory grief and one artist's own passage into motherhood, CON moves through báo hiu — the Vietnamese duty to repay a debt of gratitude that can never quite be paid back. Expect grief and tenderness in the same breath, in this cross-genre choreography that blends Hip Hop and Contemporary styles.

Unrequited is a Bharatanatyam solo by Atri Nundy. Drawn from the world of the Mahabharata, the piece explores the untold emotional landscape of Panchali; centering on her connection with Karna and the possibility of a love that can never be realized. Instead of retelling the familiar narrative of Panchali as wife, queen and victim, this dance performance explores the intimate and complex interior world of a woman confronting a love that can never belong to her and what happens when duty ultimately demands that desire be sacrificed. At its heart, Unrequited is an exploration of the lives we might have lived if circumstances had been different.

Saturday, November 7, 2026 at 8PM, followed by a post-show reception

Sunday, November 8, 2026 at 3PM, followed by a post-show Artist Talk/Q&A

90 minutes including a brief intermission

Ticket options range from $10-45, plus HST. We invite audience members to choose the price level that aligns with their circumstance using the guidelines provided. If you need a free $0 ticket, please email Bri (Artistic Producer, Education + Audience Relations) at info@toesfordance.ca. A limited number of $0 free tickets are available for each performance.

There will be a post-show Reception on Saturday, November 7, and post-show English-language Artist Talk on Sunday, November 8. Everyone is welcome to join!

TOES FOR DANCE donors, funders, partners, volunteers and those who purchase a ‘Supporter’ level ticket are invited to join our Supporter Appreciation Event on Saturday November 7 starting at 6:30pm.

Presented by the City of Toronto in partnership with TOES FOR DANCE, with support from Lakeshore Arts. Additional funding provided by the Toronto Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, Department of Canadian Heritage (Canada Arts Presentation Fund) and the Lindy Green Family Foundation. Additional support provided by NANDAM and the National Ballet of Canada. Special thanks to community sponsors, Pivot Dancer and Sol Dance Collective!