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WCD company dancers under the direction of choreographer Roger Sinha. (LEIF NORMAN)

Montreal-based choreographer Roger Sinha knows a thing or two about hard knocks.
   
The son of an Indian father and an Armenian mother, Sinha recounts being beaten up every day at school as an eight-year-old kid in Saskatoon, ridiculed for the colour of his skin and made to feel like a social leper in his own community. After his growing interest in martial arts — he earned a black belt in karate at 17 to survive the bullying — morphed into a love for dance, he was trounced again by a ballet teacher who flatly told him he would never become a dancer due to his physique.
   
"I was devastated because I was good," Sinha says. "I was told I was one of the best dancers in the class. It was rejection all over again."
   
That would make anyone want to give up. However, those tough early days only forged Sinha’s resolve, leading him to become a critically acclaimed dancer renowned for his searing, autobiographical works.
   
Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers presents his latest creation with the world premiere of Left Hook, Right Jab and other musical notes. The triple bill, simply titled Sinha, Lott and Browne, runs Dec. 1 to 4 at the Rachel Browne Theatre and includes two premieres by WCD artistic director Brent Lott as well as founding artistic director Rachel Browne. The show marks only the third time Sinha has created for the 47-year-old company that last performed his riveting Benches in 1996. 
   
"I have always been a fan of Roger’s work," Lott says. "I love the complicated rhythms and the bursts of energy, all done with amazingly intricate hand and finger placement. Every time I am in the studio with Roger and the dancers, they seem to be having a great time."
   
The intensely physical piece merges classical Indian dance with contemporary vocabulary, martial arts, theatre and gestural Bharata Natyam dance from India. It also includes a liberal dose of Sinha’s sardonic wit and a pastiche score the self-confessed technophile cobbled together using Garage Band. 
   
Born in London, England ("I was brought up on fish ’n’ chips, not curry," he quips), Sinha, 51, came to Canada with his family in 1968. His immigrant parents’ desire for him to follow a more traditional, financially secure path led to Sinha studying economics at the University of Toronto. He quickly realized his true passion lay in the arts, dropped out of university and began professional dance training at the relatively late age of 23. After several years exploring his own artistic voice, which was influenced by a love of disco and films such as All That Jazz, Sinha established his Montreal-based contemporary dance company, Sinha Danse, in 1991.
   
A turning point came the following year. Inspired by Québécois artists Robert Lepage, Ginette Laurins and Denys Arcand, who crafted works based on their personal experiences, Sinha created his highly acclaimed Burning Skin, which explored his ethnic heritage. To his great surprise, the autobiographical piece received rave reviews and catapulted him onto the national stage. The artist who spent his formative years feeling like an outcast finally felt accepted on his own terms.  
   
"It’s saved me," Sinha quickly responds when asked what dance means to him. "It’s given me a family. It has given me a place to belong. To be among people who are like-minded, other dancers and creators, has been liberating.
   
"When you’re an artist, it’s important to know who you are," he says. "I’m celebrating my roots."
 

Sinha, Browne and Lott
Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers 
Dec. 1 – 4, Rachel Browne Theatre