Remembering Rina Singha
RINA SINGHA
(1937 – 2025)
DCD was very sad to learn that dance artist and Hall of Fame inductee Rina Singha died on Monday, September 1. Rina was a friend of the family here at DCD. In addition to housing some of her archives, her relationship with our founders, Lawrence and Miriam Adams, dates back to the 1970s when they were running 15 Dance Lab. At a time when Canada’s theatres were unfamiliar with classical Indian dance forms such as Kathak, Rina found a place to perform at 15 Dance Lab, while also planting the seeds of friendship with Lawrence and Miriam. Miriam reflects, “Rina lived a life of huge accomplishments that have changed the face of dance and education in Canada and elsewhere, as she continued to confront new challenges with vigour and humility. That ever present sparkle in her eye revealed her great humour and compassion.”
When I first met Rina, I was working at Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre. I knew her on sight because of my time poking around in the DCD archives. She had brought Christmas chocolates to CCDT directors Deborah Lundmark and Michael deConinck Smith. She must have rooted around in her bag for about 5 minutes while chatting about what she was doing, who else she was seeing that day, and other tidbits about dance before she ultimately produced the chocolates. That moment, to me, encapsulates Rina. Thoughtful and generous, an expert knowledge of dance, and beautifully human.
I invite you to learn more about Rina Singha or reflect on her contributions if you knew her. DCD offers our sincere condolences to her family and friends, among which we count ourselves.
- DCD Magazine, issue 64, Fall 2007 – “Rina Singha: Seventy Years and Still Dancing” by Uma Parameswaran (page 16 – use coupon code “singha” to download the issue for free) – https://dcd.ca/product/dcd-the-magazine-issue-64-fall-2007/
- Hall of Fame Induction – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgnrwP0tbc0
- Pages in History – https://dcd.ca/exhibits-and-education/pih/singhapih/
~ Amy Bowring
