150 years captured in a flash of colours
Mississauga dancers paint the sky with bright hues to celebrate Canada’s diversity
On Sunday, at the Canadian Colour Festival, 150 dancers came together for a rainbow-powdered flash mob to celebrate Canada’s sesquicentennial.
Beneath the clouds of neon dust in a parking lot in Mississauga, there was the city’s mayor, Bonnie Crombie, covered in green and orange powder after dancing with crowds of kids as part of Rung De’ ONE (RDO).
“I think this is my fourth Rung De’ ONE and the first couple, I said ‘no, no I can’t get coloured because I have to go somewhere else after, I can’t celebrate with you,’ ” she said, her hair blotched yellow and pink.
“So today I came and celebrated to get me all colourful. I think this is the biggest and the best one yet. We’re going to dance and we’re going to drum. We’re nice and colourful.”
In its fourth year, RDO is inspired by Holi, a spring festival that takes place in India and Nepal.
“There’s so many people from different communities taking so much interest. They’re like ‘wow, my kid has never done this’,” said the festival’s organizer, Sumit Ahuja. “This is amazing. Once you’re col- oured, nobody knows whether you’re from China or Paris or India. They’re all playing together on music.”
The routine, titled “Being Canadian,” was choreographed by dance academy Shiamak Toronto and used natural, non-toxic, watersoluble and environmentally friendly coloured powder.
“We wanted to bring all Canadians together. The true nature of being Canadian is all the people from different backgrounds together at one place,” Ahuja said.
“You come from A country, I come from B country, somebody comes from India, somebody comes from Japan, Philippines, Europe. We all come together in a multicultural society as Canadians, as fellow Canadians.”
Shiamak, one of Toronto’s biggest Bollywood dance companies, put together the routine — which was filmed by a drone and concluded with all 150 dancers throwing coloured powder into the air — to “get the kids involved, get the community involved, get the culture involved.”
“At the end of the day, Canada is super multicultural. We wanted to get as many people as possible,” said Parth Dani, Shiamak’s choreographer and a professionally trained Bollywood dancer from Mumbai.
“I am so excited. I love to watch it more than be a part of it now because watching these kids dance is more than enough. They worked so hard.”
Hosted outside Sheridan College at 4219 Living Arts Dr., the festival also featured music from Indian singer Manj Musik, with a portion of the proceeds going to United Way.
Most of all, though, the festival was about bringing a diverse community together.
“We’re celebrating the vibrancy and the diversity and the colour that is Mississauga. Nobody can celebrate like us here,” Crombie finished. “Look at us, this is fantastic.”
Next year, organizers hope to move RDO to Toronto on the first weekend after Canada Day.
“We give an opportunity for people from all backgrounds to come together,” added Ahuja. “(It’s) all the colours together in the air to celebrate unity and diversity to give a tribute to Canada 150.”
“We’re celebrating the vibrancy and the diversity and the colour that is Mississauga. Nobody can celebrate like us here.” BONNIE CROMBIE MAYOR OF MISSISSAUGA