July 3, 2012

dance dance dance

dance your anger/and your joys/dance the guns to silence/dance dance dance.
–Ken Saro-Wiwa

Ananya Dance Theatre stands apart from other dance companies in its unparalleled dedication to artistic excellence combined with rigorous academic research on the presented works. In other words, you won’t find a more rehearsed or better informed group of dancers anywhere else. With each new project, ADT dancers are absolutely immersed in and consumed by their work. Beyond merely dancing with a current events lens, our performers engage fully in a process of rigorous technique training with equal emphasis on in-depth research and profound understanding of complex socio-political realities. Audiences ultimately witness the embodiment of an emotional, spiritual, physical and intellectual transformation.

For Moreechika, the dancers are finding motivation and inspiration from an array of oil/petroleum related subjects. They are following the disastrous deep horizon oil spill and its devastating consequences to environment and community in the gulf coast region. They monitor the keystone pipeline initiative that intends to desecrate Native American land. They have explored the methods of protest used by the indigenous Kichwa women in Ecuador, and charted their three decade long battle with Chevron oil. They investigated the trial and hanging of Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and his protest against Shell Oil for the injustices done to the Ogoni people and the destruction of their land and ecosystem.   They studied the concept of oil as ruiria—or blood of the earth—through the practices and beliefs of the U’wa community in Colombia.

All of this complex research and artistry culminates in an epic evening length work that engages and inspires. The members of this company recognize that dance audiences are sophisticated and they hunger for work that can be challenging and complex, so we strive to avoid simplistic and patronizing entertainment. Instead, our audiences join us on a journey of discovery, awareness, and empowerment.

Follow these links for more information on the subjects we’ve been researching:

Deep Horizon Oil Spill: huffingtonpost.com, The Guardian, BBC

Keystone Pipeline: Reuters, Raw Story

Kichwa Women: globalvoicesonline.org

Ken Saro-Wiwa: wiwavshell.org, The Guardian

Colombian U’wa Community: amazonwatch.org, unhcr.org