September 9, 2021

We're back onstage at The O'Shaughnessy, October 29-30 with Dastak: I Wish You Me!

General Admission Tickets on Sale Now: theoshaughnessy.com

Suggested Price $30 – PAY WHAT YOU CAN – $5 – $40

Photo by Isabel Fajardo

 

The O’Shaughnessy at St. Catherine University will present Ananya Dance Theatre and its new production, Dastak: I Wish You Me, Friday-Saturday, October 29-30 at 7:30pm. ASL interpretation will be provided on October 29.

Dastak is a meditation on borders, loss, belonging, home, and liberation, and is structured around four elemental journeys – Earth, Water, Fire, and Air.

The evocative work traces the “knockings” (dastakin Farsi) of global injustices and echoes the subtitle created by Sharon Bridgforth – I Wish You Me – amplifying the cross-generational love that has carried communities through difficult migrations. The production invites audiences to imagine what freedom is possible as it expands the realms of intention and trans-dimensional connection through spells that invoke rest, forgiveness, love, and freedom

Choreographed by Ananya Chatterjea and performed by the artists of Ananya Dance Theatre, Dastak features a powerful team of collaborators, including writer and dramaturg Sharon Bridgforth, sound artist Spirit McIntyre (performing live), stage director Marcus Young, lighting designer Kevin A. Jones, costume designer Annie Cady, scenic designer Chelsea Warren, and film maker Darren Johnson. 

The O’Shaughnessy at St. Catherine University is located at 2004 Randolph Ave. in Saint Paul. Tickets for Dastak are on sale at theoshaughnessy.com.

Ananya Dance Theatre and The O’Shaughnessy are excited to implement PAY WHAT YOU CAN pricing for these performances. Our suggested ticket price is $30. 
 
PAY WHAT YOU CAN asks those who routinely pay $30 for Ananya Dance Theatre tickets to pay that amount; it is the fair market value of the ticket. If you need to pay less, you can choose to pay less, as little as $5 a ticket. Those who can pay more than the market price are welcome to do so, and your generosity will help cover the cost of someone else’s ticket.
 
For more information and tickets, contact The O’Shaughnessy Ticket Office at 651-690-6700 or online at theoshaughnessy.com.
 

DASTAK:  I WISH YOU ME

Choreography: Ananya Chatterjea (Minneapolis) 

Sound score: Spirit Paris McIntyre (New Orleans) 

Spoken word: Sharon Bridgforth (Los Angeles) 

Stage director: Marcus Young (St. Paul)

Costume design: Annie Cady (St. Paul)

Scenic design: Chelsea Warren (Minneapolis)

Lighting design: Kevin A. Jones (Minneapolis)

The O’Shaughnessy’s Covid-19 guidelines can be reviewed here.

Ananya Dance Theatre is a company of cultural activists and BIPOC women, womxn, and femme artists who believe in the transformative power of dance. In dancing stories where lives and dreams occupy the center, ADT shifts the landscape of mainstream culture, builds understanding about arts and social justice, and empowers artistic voices. Meet the People of Ananya Dance Theatre here. 

Dastak is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, in partnership with the Bates Dance Festival, Lewiston, Maine; UtahPresents, Salt Lake City; and NPN. The Creation & Development Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information: www.npnweb.org 

Dastak was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Dastak is being developed with support from the Urban Bush Women Choreographic Center Initiative funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

Production residency funded by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project with funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Dastak is supported by Dance/USA Fellowships to Artists made possible with generous funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

The development of Dastak was made possible, in part, by the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography at Florida State University.

Dastak is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

Dastak is supported by a grant from the Marbrook Foundation.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Metro Regional Arts Council and the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.