Community Takes the Stage - In celebration of our birthday every year, we invite Buffalo’s creative community to pitch stimulating and thought-provoking “shorts” of their take on March’s global CreativeMornings theme. This year, that theme is ‘Identity’, we had our largest submission pool yet, and selected these folks to share their interpretation of the theme as it relates to creativity:

➤ Ambitious, community oriented and creative, Gaitrie Subryan danced her way into the Western New York Community seven years ago. Rooted in her culture and upbringings she fell in love with dance while sitting in her family living room in the Bronx and watching Bollywood films with her grandmother and parents.

When she moved to Buffalo in 2012, Gaitrie noticed the lack of Bollywood dance classes in the area. With her training and experience she decided to jump in, actually she LEAPED in. Going in strong, offering workshops, pop up classes, performances and hosting instructors from other parts of the country. She gave the community the ability to travel to another part of the word.

Gaitrie has created a performance troupe that comprises of women from all backgrounds and dance forms. Over the years, the troupe has performed at annual events like Buffalo without Borders, Taste of Diversity, City of Night, Elmwood Festival of the Arts and more. They have presented showcases to the community, selling out shows at the iconic Ujima Theatre and Shea’s Smith Theatre. Devi Bollywood Performing Arts continues to provide a platform for dance in the Western New York area.

Now, a mom of three (with a 4-year-old boy and twin 16-month-old girls) she is even more determined to share her passion with those around her. Gaitrie continues to add the brinks in building a community that amplifies compassion for others, confidence in one’s self and truth in the world around us. Her hope is to continue in this direction in sharing her passion with individuals from all backgrounds, including youth, men, women and our inner child. “I can’t change the world, but I can do my best, where I am, in sharing love and hope with those around me"

➤ Maya Satterwhite, aka Maya by Name, is a 23 year old singer/songwriter from Buffalo, New York. The dynamic singer has self-written and released three projects: Arrival (2015), Next Verse (2016) and She (2018). With a base of pop/R&B, but blended influences of rock, funk and hip-hop, Maya’s music remains consistent in it’s message of empowerment. With her unique sound and captivating live performances, Maya by Name is establishing herself as an artist with a vision - and certainly one to watch.

➤ A native of Buffalo, New York, Naila Ansari is a cum laude graduate of Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts Program.

She is an original and former principal dancer for the August Wilson Center dance ensemble, where the company was named “Top 25 Dance Companies to Watch” in dance magazine for the 2012-2013 season. Naila also danced and performed works for the legendary Lula Washington Dance Theatre out of Los Angeles, California. She has had the privilege of dancing works by Robert Battle, Kyle Abraham, Camille Brown, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Sidra Bell, and Kiesha Lalama, to name a few.

Naila is a fellow visiting assistant professor at Buffalo State College and in her final year as a candidate for a master of fine arts degree in dance at the University at Buffalo. Most recently, Naila has two publications in theatre journal and has had her choreography performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.