Ananya Dance Theatre Brings MICHHIL AMRA to The O'Shaughnessy in September

Ananya Dance Theatre, a company of BIPOC women/femmes, launches its 18th Season of disruptive, powerful, and urgent Yorchhā dance with the world premiere of Michhil Amra | We Are The Procession. Conceptualized and choreographed by Ananya Chatterjea. This transformative, interactive community piece will premiere at The O’Shaughnessy at St. Catherine University on September 22 and 23 2023; the first Dance Cohort presentation within The O’Shaughnessy’s 2023-2024 Season. 

Michhil is propelled by the question: “How can we build a different, more just world?” We may chafe at interruptions of normal routine; but when structures of “normality” are built on systemic violence and oppression, epic disruptions can generate vibrant possibilities. During the Uprising provoked by the murder of George Floyd, people from different communities, experiences, and identities gathered, embodied together in public space, disrupting “normal routine” to demand a more just system. These events inspired people from many different walks of life to join together in marches and occupation of public spaces. Since April, Ananya Dance Theatre has held a series of public processions to resonate with and activate the spirit of Uprisings, marking days, lives, and locations that live at the heart of our community.  Artifacts from each ADT procession this year will appear in the performed work.

Artistic Director/Choreographer Chatterjea says: “Growing up in Kolkata in the 70’s, I regularly experienced michhil (“protest/processions” in Bangla) spilling out into urban spaces and demanding public awareness of injustices. As in my youth, I understand my experiences in the Twin Cities – the urgency of protest processions, the occupation of public pathways, and the refusal to comply with curfews – through the intersection of justice and necessary, if inconvenient, reorganization. Working through disrupted flows to imagine spaces held with care by communities has been the cherished learning in this creative process.”

ABOUT THE SHOW

ADT’s company of BIPOC women and femme dancers, in creative alliance with behavioral artist Marcus Young, composer/sound designer Greg Schutte, costume designer Annie Cady, scenic designer Laichee Yang, video designer Darren Johnson, and lighting designer Kevin Jones, offers an invigorating dance work, vibrating with hard-won connection and soulful beauty. Michhil also features spectacular collaborators, with live performances by celebrated music artists Douglas Ewart, Michelle Kinney, and Tarek Abdelquader, and acclaimed poet Douglas Kearney.

Audiences will experience a unique blend of visual spectacle and auditory meditative experiences ranging from dance, poetry, music, processions, meditations, and a celebration of life. Michhil breaks all the barriers of oppression, redefining what audiences expect from dance, theater, storytelling, and community; the piece captures intimate, fervent moments of BIPOC Women’s rebellion against the oppressive West, Climate Change, and Global Patriarchy. 

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