At the age of three Leeann Dass-Maharaj discovered a love for dance and was encouraged to see where that love took her. Twenty-seven years later she is the founder, leader and artistic director of the 4.1.1. Dance Theatre and understands exactly what iconic American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham meant when she said, “Dance is the hidden language of the soul, of the body.”
Dass-Maharaj told WMN, “I had a love for dancing since I was three. My mom and granny used to be watching these Indian movies, and you know with these movies there was always a lot of dancing. I would follow the routines and they (Granny and Mom) encouraged me to pursue it. Now dance is a part of me.”
Among some of her most memorable dance performances were at an Indian Arrival Day function in Guyana in 2013, and at a family wedding in the US in 2019, where she felt her movements were able to break cultural barriers and she was able to tell a story her audience understood through dance.
She said over the years she has diligently trained in authentic and modern East Indian dance with various local dance groups, and has also mastered many of the techniques by watching YouTube videos and consistently practising.
[caption id="attachment_892462" align="alignnone" width="780"] Dancer Leeann Dass-Maharaj says she has a knack for fashion design and is looking for avenues to develop that talent. - KIERRON YIP NGOW[/caption]
Dass-Maharaj, a marketing specialist at Vibe Connections Ltd, formed 4.1.1. Dance Theatre in January 2016. Its name is significant: 4.1.1. because she felt she had an important message to spread through dance (4-1-1, the telephone number for local directory assistance in Canada and the US, is also slang for "information") and in numerology, the angel number 411 symbolises patience, commitment and hard work.
The company is based in Princes Town.
“When I started, it was with one part-time class. Eventually I expanded and had various dance groups in Princes Town, Chaguanas, Couva, Barrackpore to do my part in keeping our East Indian culture alive in Trinidad and Tobago,” she told WMN. "Now, because of the pandemic, those classes are strictly online."
Before March 2020, she also did in-person tutoring at the Tulsa Trace and San Francique Hindu schools.
“Covid put a stop to all that. I am still not too sure how things will work out after the pandemic, but for now all my other classes will continue online.”
[caption id="attachment_892557" align="alignnone" width="934"] Leeann Dass-Maharaj says she has loved dance since she was three years old. - Sureash Cholai[/caption]
The hour-long classes are offered on the Zoom platform. Dass-Maharaj has approximately 80 registered students, aged four and up.
Unlike other dance schools, 4.1.1. was a bit late getting started with online classes.
“When the pandemic started, we had no dance classes from March to October,” she said, which forced the cancellation of the school’s annual dance concert, usually held in August. But when the virtual classes started, her students
