Folk Lok Live is Royal Academy of Punjab's flagship annual event series, created to bridge gaps between communities through the transformative power of the arts.
Each edition brings together communities that don't traditionally engage with one another, promoting anti-racism and creating meaningful experiences for audiences across Metro Vancouver. Rooted in storytelling, music, poetry, and dance, every production honours the spirit of cultural exchange and human connection.
Folk Lok Live has built lasting relationships between Punjabi, Indigenous, Japanese, Persian, and African diaspora communities. It grew from a bold idea into one of Metro Vancouver's most anticipated intercultural arts events.
Royal Academy of Punjab Celebrating Global Womanhood through our history of culture, Music and Dance.
In partnership:
Native ThunderFame Art Group
African Friendship
Supported by: Govt of Canada
British Columbia Arts Council
City of Surrey
Metro Vancouver
Media partners: @gabroo-tv
Gurdian @Channel Punjabi Saw raj @REDFMCANADA
Community partners: Poetic justice Cloverdale fuel ABC Vegigarden JassalVideo
Production: imagestudiophotos
Project Artistic Director: Hardeep singh sahota
Project Advisor: Mo Dhaliwal
Project manager: Anita Lal
Folk Lok Live was created to bridge gaps between radicalized communities through the arts. This annualevent brings together communities that do not engage with each other traditionally. Through this work, wepromote anti-racism and create a transformative event and experience for our audience and the community.
In partnership with Uzume Taiko Drum Group Society
Supported by @goverment of Canada @GovernmentofBC @surreybc @metrovancouver
Media partners @gabroo-tv Gurdian @ChannelPunjabi Saw raj @REDFMCANADA
Community partners Poetic justice Cloverdale fuel ABC Vegigarden JassalVideo Production imagestudiophotos
Project Artistic Director: Hardeep singh sahota
Project Advisor: Mo Dhaliwal
Project manager: Anita Lal
Come join us for a colourful and exciting journey of exploration between the Persian and Punjabi culture through poetry, storytelling, music, and dance. Together we celebrate the words and beats that make our hearts sing and souls dance. Come with us, as we travel from the mystical Persia to vibrant PunjabIn partnership with Hossien and Fame Art Group
Supported by
@goverment of Canada
Media partners
Gurdian
Saw raj
Community partners:Poetic justice - Cloverdale fuel - ABC Vegigarden - Jassal
Video Production: imagestudiophotos
Project Artistic Director: Hardeep singh sahota
Project Advisor: Mo Dhaliwal
Project manager: Anita Lal
Project Reserach supported by: Gursewak Lambi (Punjabi university of patiala)
Persian Dance Manager: Fereshteh ZakeryPunjabi
Folk dance manager: Deeksha Arora
Punjabi Vocalist: Vishaljeet Kaur Persian
vocalist: Banafsheh Farahmand
Indian band Coach Sandhu Bruce Harding Sandy Khaira Jassi Des raj Yashraj
Persian band Sanaz NakhjavaniBijan RahmaniHossein MeimaniFame art groups
(persian performer)Ronak HakimzadehMelina MozaferiDorsa Davoodabadi Behrang FerdousiLeila HenarehFariba Kian
Royal Academy (Performers) DEEKSHA ARORA - GURSIMAR SAHOTA - MANISHA MALHI - HARLENE SRAN - ARPAN SRAN - GURNOOR PANNU - JAPNOOP WARAICH - PARNAAM SANGHERA - PRABLEEN MAL - RIYA MANN - HASRET GILL - REHAT AUJLA - MANROOP SAINI - SIMRIN SOHAL
Borderless is a celebration of pre-partition Punjab.Before invisible lines laid down by the British divided Punjabi’s, we lived together, we laughed together,we cried together and were a part of each others story. Our daily lives, our daily rituals, our traditions andour dreams were rooted in the same soil. Our love stories carried the same sweetness, our strugglesshed the same tears, our songs told the same stories and our bodies moved to the same beats.Seventy years after partition and oceans away, Punjabi’s in the Diaspora still have Punjab imprinted onour souls. We experience the pull of the land, feel the whispers of breeze from the fields and hear gentlethe laughter of waves on the banks of the rivers. What we forget is that we share the same sweetmemories with our neighbours. The Punjabi Spirit doesn’t recognize state lines that divide, it still dancesto the same dhol and tumbhi on both sides of the border.Through the beauty of Waris Shah’s Heer and Bulleh Shah’s poetry, the movements of Jhoomar andJugni, and the sound of the dhol, tumbhi and bugchu; we honour the Spirit and the brotherhood of ourforefathers by exploring our identity, our culture and our history pre-partition. Artistically curated by VijayYamla, grandson of legendary Ustaad Lal Chand Yamla Jatt and Hardeep Singh Sahota of RoyalAcademy of Bhangra, and MC’d by Mo Dhaliwal.In a time that there is so much division and discrimination, so much hate and mistrust; Folk Lok Live:Brotherhood will spread the message of love and unity. We will come together and share our stories and let that imprint on our Soul shine and our Spirit dance together.
Supported by: Govt of Canada - Govt of BC - BC Arts - City of Vancouver - City of Surrey
Media Partners: GTV - Channel Punjabi - Sawraj Radio - Red Fm - Chardikala - Akal Guardian
Community Partners: I learn Secondary School - Cloverdale Fuels - Jassal Signs - Manny's Boutique - Newville Drywall - Sussex Insurance - Veggie Garden - ABC Home Automation.
Project Manager: Anita Lal
Artistic Director: Hardeep Singh Sahota
Mc: Mla Rachna Singh
Event Narriotor: Mo Dhaliwal Poem
by: Harpreet Kang
Singer: Vijay Yamla and Prince Tejay Singer 1. Vijay Yamla 2. Prince Tejay
Musician: Bruce Harding - Sandy - Coach Sandhu - Amarjit valjot - Jassi Singh - Saranjeet Singh - Gurdev Singh
Dancers & Student Singers: Deeksha Arora - Gursimar Sahota - Manisha Malhi- Jevan waraich - Channel sekhon - Gurnoor pannu - Sehajmann tejay - Prableen Mal -Aditya Monga - Sharan Brar - Manmeet puri - Taran Dhatt - Ravjit deol - Sahildeep Cheema - Ishaan Singh - Himat Grewal Specials Thanks to ( Harjot Singh Hundal)
Stories of Celebration: All the best bits from Folk Fusion 2017! We hope you enjoyed the annual folk fusion event. This iconic event was built around the idea of celebrating arts, culture and diversity.
A colourful and exciting journey of exploration between the Persian and Punjabi culture through poetry, storytelling, music, and dance. Together we celebrate the words and beats that make our hearts sing and souls dance. Come with us, as we travel from the mystical Persia to vibrant Punjab In partnership with Hossien and Fame Art Group.
Supported by
Media partners
Gurdian
Sawraj Radio
Community partners
Poetic justice
Cloverdale fuel
ABC
Vegigarden
Jassal sign
Project Artistic Director: Hardeep singh sahota
Project Advisor: Mo Dhaliwal
Project manager: Anita Lal
Project Reserach supported by: Gursewak Lambi (Punjabi university of patiala)
Persian Dance Manager: Fereshteh Zakery
Punjabi Folk dance manager: Deeksha Arora
Punjabi Vocalist: Vishaljeet Kaur
Persian vocalist: Banafsheh Farahmand
Indian band Coach Sandhu Bruce Harding Sandy Khaira Jassi Des raj Yashraj
Persian band Sanaz Nakhjavani Bijan Rahmani Hossein Meimani
Fame art groups (persian performer) Ronak Hakimzadeh Melina Mozaferi Dorsa Davoodabadi Behrang Ferdousi Leila Henareh Fariba Kian
Royal Academy of Punjabi (Performers) DEEKSHA ARORA GURSIMAR SAHOTA MANISHA MALHI HARLENE SRAN ARPAN SRAN GURNOOR PANNU JAPNOOP WARAICH PARNAAM SANGHERA PRABLEEN MAL RIYA MANN HASRET GILL REHAT AUJLA MANROOP SAINI SIMRIN SOHAL Thank you for watching
Thank you for Watching
Borderless is a celebration of pre-partition Punjab. Before invisible lines laid down by the British divided Punjabi’s, we lived together, we laughed together, we cried together and were a part of each others story. Our daily lives, our daily rituals, our traditions and our dreams were rooted in the same soil. Our love stories carried the same sweetness, our struggles shed the same tears, our songs told the same stories and our bodies moved to the same beats.
Seventy years after partition and oceans away, Punjabi’s in the Diaspora still have Punjab imprinted on our souls. We experience the pull of the land, feel the whispers of breeze from the fields and hear gentle the laughter of waves on the banks of the rivers. What we forget is that we share the same sweet memories with our neighbours.
The Punjabi Spirit doesn’t recognize state lines that divide, it still dances to the same dhol and tumbhi on both sides of the border. Through the beauty of Waris Shah’s Heer and Bulleh Shah’s poetry, the movements of Jhoomar and Jugni, and the sound of the dhol, tumbhi and bugchu; we honour the Spirit and the brotherhood of our forefathers by exploring our identity, our culture and our history pre-partition.
Artistically curated by Vijay Yamla, grandson of legendary Ustaad Lal Chand Yamla Jatt and Hardeep Singh Sahota of Royal Academy of Punjabi, and MC’d by Mo Dhaliwal. In a time that there is so much division and discrimination, so much hate and mistrust; Folk Lok Live: Brotherhood will spread the message of love and unity. We will come together and share our stories and let that imprint on our Soul shine and our Spirit dance together.
Supported by:
Govt of Canada – Govt of BC – BC Arts – City of Vancouver – City of Surrey
Media Partners:
GTV – Channel Punjabi – Sawraj Radio – Red Fm – Chardikala – Akal Guardian
Community Partners:
I learn Secondary School – Cloverdale Fuels – Jassal Signs – Manny’s Boutique – Newville Drywall – Sussex Insurance – Veggie Garden – ABC Home Automation.
Project Manager: Anita Lal
Artistic Director: Hardeep Singh Sahota
Mc: Mla Rachna Singh
Event Narriotor: Mo Dhaliwal
Poem by: Harpreet Kang
Singer: Vijay Yamla and Prince Tejay Singer
Musician: Bruce Harding – Sandy – Coach Sandhu – Amarjit valjot – Jassi Singh – Saranjeet Singh – Gurdev Singh
Dancers & Student Singers: Deeksha Arora – Gursimar Sahota – Manisha Malhi- Jevan waraich – Channel sekhon – Gurnoor pannu – Sehajmann tejay – Prableen Mal -Aditya Monga – Sharan Brar – Manmeet puri – Taran Dhatt – Ravjit deol – Sahildeep Cheema – Ishaan Singh – Himat Grewal
Folk Lok Live The warrior’s drums and the bhangra dancer’s dhol… the sweet sounds of the fancy shawl dance and the love story of Saami… all in one magical night called Folk Lok Live. Watch the magic that happened as we connected two beautiful cultures and came together as brother’s through music, dance and storytelling.
Supported by
Govt of Canada
Govt of British Columbia
City of surrey
Community partners
VIBC
I learn school
Sky Rocket
Cloverdale Fuel
Amira Health
Media partners
Channel Punjabi
Red Fm
Sawraj Radio
Royal Academy participated in a collection of major mainstage performances, cross-disciplinary experiments, and corporate community engagements presented in partnership with the Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration (VIBC) and the annual City of Bhangra festival.
These diverse projects expanded how Punjabi folk arts are perceived, opened vital doors into Vancouver's corporate and contemporary dance sectors, and created landmark intercultural smash-ups with local diverse dance communities.
HSBC Canada sponsored the City of Bhangra festival in Vancouver, a show which presents artists, music and singers from around the world. To coincide with this, a group of employees, some with no dance training, decided to put together their own team to perform at the festival.
With a group that represents gender, culture and generational diversity, meet the HSBC bhangra dancing team. Choreographed By Hardeep Singh Sahota.
HSBC Canada sponsored the City of Bhangra festival in Vancouver, a show which presents artists, music and singers from around the world. To coincide with this, a group of employees, some with no dance training, decided to put together their own team to perform at the festival.
With a group that represents gender, culture and generational diversity, meet the HSBC bhangra dancing team. Choreographed By Hardeep Singh Sahota.
May 29, 2014. Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre, SFU Woodward’s, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
An exhilarating start to the Festival, led by MC and beatboxer Rup Sidhu and choreographed by Hardeep Sahota, with performances by Native Thunder Productions, JCC Shalom Dancers, Now or Never Crew, Leela Dance, and the Royal Academy of Punjabi, all accompanied by Karnveer Bhuller on Dhol. This event was a unique opportunity to experience First Nations, Jewish, Hip-Hop, and Garba dancers creating intercultural mash-ups by blending bhangra moves with their own indigenous folk traditions. Opening Reception catered by Nanak Foods. Presented with support from Canada Council for the Arts.
Performers:
Native Thunder Productions (First Nations Group)
JCC Shalom Dancers (Jewish Dancers)
Now or Never Crew (Breakdancers)
Leela Dance (Garba Dancers)
Royal Academy of Punjabi, featuring Surrey Folk Bhangra Club
Dholi – Karnvir Bhuller
MC – Rupinder Sidhu
Choreographer – Hardeep Sahota from Royal Academy of Punjabi
Surrey City Hall, Surrey, BC, Canada. Mar 19, 2015.
Royal Academy of Punjabi
Hardeep Singh Sahota (Choreographer), Parminder Prince (Punjabi Folk Singer), Sheru Chahal (Dhol)
Description:
VIBC’s vision is to create an inclusive community for all through celebration and the joy of bhangra. On March 19, we invite you to attend an extraordinary event at Surrey City Hall, connecting revolutionary Ghadar poetry to elements of folk bhangra performance.
Sponsored by Hari Sharma Foundation, and hosted by Bali “Lady B” Deol of Swaraj Radio, Songs of Revolution includes discussion, dance, poetry, and music inspired by the Ghadar movement, undertaken in the 1900s in Canada, the US, and India by Indians seeking their freedom from the British Raj.
Songs of Revolution takes place in four parts, each in its own way illuminating aspects of a movement that shaped—and continues to shape—the lives of so many individuals and families here in Canada and abroad. To open the evening, local community members and academics will introduce the Ghadar movement and explore its significance today. Then Royal Academy of Punjabi will present a ten-minute performance set to poetry describing scene-by-scene the story of the Ghadarites’ call for India’s independence. This will be followed by recitations of Ghadar poetry by local poets, authors, and scholars such as Sohan Singh Pooni, Jasmin Chahal, Sandeep Singh, Kalwant Singh Nadeem Parmar, and Amal Rana. The evening concludes with a short reception sponsored by Nanak Foods, to which everyone is invited to socialize and share more poetry in an informal setting.
Kade Mangyian Milann Azadiyan Na
Hunde Tarliyan Naal Na Raj Loko
Karo Na Minnat Ainwe Bano Na Kaiyar
Fardo Talwar Ehnan Nahin Rahnna
Freedom is not obtained by begging
By appeals political power is not won
Do not petition like cowards
Take the sword and they will run
Ghadar Poem
This event is presented by VIBC. Many thanks to sponsor Hari Sharma Foundation; to supporters Swaraj Radio 96.1FM, Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Policy Studies on Culture and Communities, Simon Fraser University Surrey, Nanak Foods, and Royal Academy of Punjabi ; and to all of our event participants, performers, and volunteers.
Surrey, BC.
TransFusion 2015 has always been about pushing boundaries and taking artistic liberties. This year, VIBC is excited to partner up with Hardeep Singh Sahota from Royal Academy of Punjabi who guided all the artists Vanessa Goodman, Stu Iguidez, Dayna Szyndrowski, and Jacky Yenta about Punjabi Folk Dances.
Together, we present bhangra abstracted — elements of the dance movements, the music, the instruments, the language — seen through a new and unique lens. This is our opportunity to get weird, to explore, and to excite you with an innovative performance, blending and creating new pieces in partnership with local artists. Art has no boundaries, and through TransFusion, VIBC continues to break through the silos and explore new possibilities for cross-cultural understanding.
Performance done on December 3rd, 2015
Royal Academy of Punjab’s initiatives reflect an ongoing commitment to sustaining Punjabi folk traditions while actively embedding them within civic, academic, and intercultural spaces across British Columbia. Through performances in educational institutions, civic celebrations, reconciliation events, and cross-community festivals, the Academy uses dance and cultural practice as a living form of heritage preservation and dialogue.
Collectively, these projects demonstrate the Royal Academy’s role in not only preserving Punjabi folk arts, but also activating them as a platform for inclusion, education, reconciliation, and cultural visibility across diverse public spheres in Canada.
These initiatives include:
BHANGRA as a part of this Whatcom County residency
“We were thrilled to work with Hardeep Singh Sahota director of The Royal Academy of Punjabi”
Hardeep Singh Sahota taught at Carl Cozier, Alderwood Elementary, and Squalicum High School. Dancers from the Academy performed at the two elementary schools as well as at Sterling Meadows Church.
Pictures of Deep teaching in the public schools, as well as at the academy, along with pictures of performances by Royal Academy dancers can be seen in the video slideshow below.
A presentation created and performed by our Artistic Dance Director Hardeep Singh Sahota & The Founder of The Spirit of the village Jacky Yenga.
Music Master: Vijay Yamla
Drum: Amarjeet Valjot
What our members are saying:
"I joined Royal Academy just for exercise but they encouraged us so much that we performed. I am enjoying so much now that want to continue forever."
"Royal Academy of Punjab is an amazing place to learn Bhangra! The instructors are top-notch, and the atmosphere is so energetic and fun."