The awards were presented by Amy Crawford, executive director, and Peter Leggett, board president, during MRAC’s annual meeting, July 26, held at the Soo Visual Arts Center in Minneapolis.
Ananya Chatterjea, artistic director, accepted the award for Ananya Dance Theatre. Cheryl Caponi, executive director, accepted on behalf of Caponi Art Park.
MRAC’s Arts Achievement Award recognizes two organizations each year that exemplify its mission of increasing access to the arts in the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Christopher Yang, board chair, Center for Hmong Arts and Talent
Ananya Dance Theatre performed at the 3d annual Little Mekong Night Market in St. Paul, July 24. The performance was part of two days of events programmed on the Mystic Lake Casino Stage by the Center for Hmong Arts & Talent.
Ananya Dance Theatre at Little Mekong Night Market, July 24, 2016
Little Mekong Night Market is the Twin Cities’s Asian-inspired twilight street market, located in the heart of the Little Mekong District near the Western Avenue Green Line LRT Station.
Little Mekong is the Asian business and cultural district in Saint Paul. Located between Mackubin and Galtier streets along University Avenue, the district boasts a diversity of cultures, top rated restaurants, and unique shopping experiences. The neighborhoods around Little Mekong include Frogtown and Summit-University.
Ananya Dance Theatre launched the crowdsource campaign on the Indiegogo platform to support “Horidraa: Golden Healing,” its 2016 production that explores healing practices and women’s work as healers. The production will premiere at The O’Shaughnessy in St. Paul, September 16-17, 2016.
The campaign launched with a fundraising party attended by more than 130 people at Du Nord Craft Spirits in Minneapolis, June 28. In its first 36 hours, the campaign raised $4,885 in online donations. As of July 29, $8,500 has been raised online from 158 donors.
[Original post was updated July 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 29, 2016.]
Members of Ananya Dance Theatre performed Odissi dance in a contemporary format at the Hindu Temple of Minnesota in Maple Grove, May 21. The presentation was made on the second day of Brahmotsavan at the invitation of the Hindu Society of Minnesota for its 10th anniversary.
Ananya Dance Theatre at Hindu Temple of Minnesota, May 21, 2016. Photo by Prabha Venkataram
l-r: Lela Pierce, Prakshi Malik, Renée Copeland, Ananya Chatterjea, James Galtney, Kealoha Ferreira. May 21, 2016.
At the invitation of Marianne Combs and MPR News, Ananya Dance Theatre shared The Fitzgerald Theater stage in Saint Paul with Minnesota Artists from Duluth to Lanesboro, May 20, 2016.
ADT backstage at The Fitzgerald Theater. Back l-r: Prakshi Malik, Renée Copeland, Gary Peterson (managing director); Center l-r: Magnolia Yang Sao Yia, Kealoha Ferreira, Jay Galtney, Leila Awadallah; Front l-r: Hui Wilcox, Ananya Chatterjea.
The occasion, hosted by Combs, was an Art Hounds Live showcase in a cabaret style performance featuring live music, dance, theater, comedy, film, visual art, and animation. The event was also a “Thank You” to the hundreds of Minnesotans who have been Art Hounds over the years, volunteering their time to share their enthusiasm with MPR audiences.
Ananya Chatterjea conducted a “Choreographing Equity/Staging Social Justice” workshop at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, May 10, 2016. The workshop was conducted for Arts in a Changing America, part of the four-day Placemaking Residency: Design for Equity, held at a variety of Twin Cities venues and organized by the Saint Paul Riverfront Corporation.
The participatory workshop used movement and text-based strategies to imagine and embody what justice might look and feel like.
Pre-parade gathering, May 1, 2016. Photo by Gary Peterson
For a second consecutive year, members of Ananya Dance Theatre danced the length of the annual May Day Parade in South Minneapolis, May 1, 2016. The parade is organized and sponsored by In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre.
Jumping Jets Drill Team & Drum Squad. Photo by Almeda Harvey Childs
The May Day Parade route follows Bloomington Avenue in Minneapolis and is followed by a festival in Powderhorn Park. Approximately 50,000 people attend the parade and festival.
Leadership Twin Cities is a nine-month series that informs people about the critical issues facing our community. Its focus is to inform and inspire future leaders – and challenge them to make a difference through personal commitment and involvement.
“Warming up” in St. Paul’s Rice Park, across the street from The Ordway Center.
The program is for individuals seeking to learn about community issues and to discuss solutions to the problems. The program selects approximately 50 people each year from the public, private and non-profit sectors who share a commitment to improving our community.
Leadership Twin Cities also creates opportunities for participants to form relationships with classmates, making it a lasting experience.
ADT at Saint Paul College. March 30, 2016. Photo by James Davies
Marchers from Saint Paul College to the Capitol Lower Mall, St. Paul MN, part of a day-long rally against violence. March 30, 2016. Photo by Gary Peterson
Ananya Chatterjea speaks against violence. The Capitol Lower Mall, St. Paul. At far left: MC Patti Larsen, Mending the Sacred Hoop, Duluth MN. March 30, 2016. Photo by James Davies
The Capitol Lower Mall, St. Paul. March 30, 2016. Photo by James Davies
Rally ended with a Round Dance, sponsored by Native Lives Matter. March 30, 2016. Photo by Ananya Chatterjea
The University of Minnesota Dance Program presentsa three-week Summer Dance Intensive, June 20-July 9, 2016.
This intensive offers a first ever experience for its participants: one week each with Twin Cities dance companies Ananya Dance Theatre, Black Label Movement, and Shapiro & Smith Dance, and their respective artistic leaders, Ananya Chatterjea, Carl Flink, and Joanie Smith. Each company will tailor its residency week to the unique qualities and aesthetics of each organization.
There are two sections for the intensive, SYMBIOSIS: Dance That Moves & Thinks: Section 1 (2 credits) is for University of Minnesota dance majors and will provide 1 performance credit toward their degree. Section 2 is open to anyone 16 years of age and older, no audition required.
Ananya Dance Theatre: June 20-24, Monday-Friday
Flow from a yogic half-moon balance into flexed feet grounded jumps into footwork marked by asymmetric rhythms. Experience Yorchha™, ADT’s unique contemporary Indian dance technique that brings together movement principles from Odissi, the classical Indian dance technique, Chhau, the East Indian martial art, and Vinyasa yoga. ADT artists will lead participants through a rigorous technique class (9:30am-11am), share the company’s choreographic process that intersects dance with social justice goals, and teach sections from ADT’s repertory (11:15am-1pm). There will be an informal showing on Friday June 24, 1pm.
Black Label Movement: June 27-July 1, Monday-Friday
Learn and move with BLM Artistic Directors Carl Flink and Emilie Plauche Flink and their ballistic movers during a rigorous daily schedule that will challenge your physical and creative limits. Each day begins with a contemporary movement technique class, followed by a short partnering laboratory, and ends with a focused, two-hour repertory rehearsal. Flink will give a presentation on his dynamic collaborations with scientists and creation of TED Talks during the week.
Schedule for the BLM week: 9:30 – 10:45 a.m. Contemporary Technique; 10:45 – 11:00 a.m. Partnering Laboratory; 11:15 – 1 p.m. BLM Repertory; June 29 at 1 p.m. BLM Presentation on Bodystorming and Unique Collaborations with Scientists; July 1 at 1 p.m. public repertory showing.
Shapiro & Smith Dance: July 5-9, Tuesday – Saturday
Shapiro & Smith Dance performs tales of beauty and biting wit that run the gamut from searingly provocative to absurdly hilarious. Dancing with breathtaking physicality and emotional depth, SSD has earned an international reputation for virtuosity, substance, craft, and pure abandonment. Classes in contemporary technique and repertory will be led by Laura Selle Virtucio, Scott Mettille, and Joanie Smith. The intensive week will re-stage “Hands,” a work that examines the power and beauty of people’s hands.
Schedule for the SSD week: 9:30am-10:30am Contemporary Technique; 10:30am-1:00pm SSD Repertory; July 9 at 12pm public showing.
Ananya Chatterjea in a discussion on cultural equity in dance education, Feb. 28, 2016. Photo by Christopher Duggan.
Ananya Chatterjea participated in a discussion on cultural equity in dance education, moderated by Camille A. Brown, at the Dance/NYC 2016 Symposium, February 28.
The 2016 Symposium hosted 500 participants to consider connections between the art form of dance and New York City, and to explore questions of cultural planning, affordability, equity and inclusion, public-private partnerships, and the future of technology. More than 1,200+ dance makers and companies work and operate in the New York metropolitan area.
Misty Copeland, principal dancer, American Ballet Theatre, and Virginia Johnson, artistic director, Dance Theatre of Harlem. Dance/NYC 2016 Symposium, Feb. 28, 2016. Photo by Christopher Duggan.
The full-day gathering of New York’s dance community, held at the Gibney Dance Center, aimed to share information and innovation and to stimulate awareness, interest, and ongoing engagement in dance. The Symposium made use of multiple studios for panel discussions, case studies, interactive workshops, a networking lunch, and more.
Darren Walker, president, Ford Foundation, and Lane Harwell, executive director, Dance/NYC. Dance/NYC 2016 Symposium, Feb. 28, 2016. Photo by Christopher Duggan.
“Table 13”: Roundtable discussions included representatives from Asha for Education, Ananya Dance Theatre, and Bollywood Dance Scene Twin Cities. Asha raises funds for teachers’ salaries, child nutrition, and instructional materials at six schools in India.
Nearly 200 people gathered for the 2016 Connect India event held at the Minnetonka Community Center, Feb. 6, 2016. Ananya Dance Theatre’s board chair, Gina Kundan, and managing director, Gary Peterson, stepped out to attend.
Purnima Desari, classical dancer, performed as part of the Connect India festivities. Here, with ADT’s Gary Peterson (l) and Gina Kundan (r).
Connect India is a platform for all Indian organizations in Minnesota to share missions and goals and to seek ways to cooperate and collaborate. It is sponsored by the 40,000 member India Association of Minnesota.
The evening’s festivities included a keynote address by Minnesota House Minority Leader Paul Thissen, who visited Delhi and Hyderabad with the U.S. State Department in October 2015.
ADT ready to dance at IDS. L-R: Jay Galtney, Emma Marlar, Renée Copeland, Chitra Vairavan, Leila Awadallah, Ananya Chatterjea, Prakshi Malik, Lela Pierce; front: Kealoha Ferreira, Magnolia Yang Sao Yia. Photo by Gary Peterson
The third in a series of four “Radical Recess” performances in public spaces around downtown Minneapolis included Ananya Dance Theatre, Feb. 5.
Our dancers opened the lunch-time event at the IDS Center Crystal Court, performing “Emerging from Shadows,” stories of people who push through the darkness into which they have been cast to emerge into voice and light.
Ananya Dance Theatre at Metro State University, Dec. 14, 2015. Coalition of Asian American Leaders
Members of Ananya Dance Theatre performed at CAAL Ignites: Education and Economics, sponsored by the Coalition of Asian American Leaders, at Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, December 14.
CAAL invited Asian American leaders and institutional decision-makers to see, understand, and explore the actions that can be taken to move forward on education and economics with Asian Minnesotans in 2016.
Jay Galtney, Renée Copeland, Ananya Chatterjea, Hui Wilcox at Metro State University, Dec. 14, 2015.
In 2014, CAAL engaged over 300 Asian Minnesotan leaders who informed and prioritized issues that they believed could be worked on together for the good of the whole community. Over 20 issues were identified. Further conversations helped prioritize education and economics as the two issues that are critical for the community’s future prosperity. They then formed two work groups, who have been learning more about the issues, the data, and most importantly, listening to the people behind the numbers.
Ananya Chatterjea, Chitra Vairavan, Prakshi Malik at SOUL Food Monologues
Ananya Dance Theatre performed artistic interludes for the SOUL Food Monologues show at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, December 11.
The performance was part of an evening culmination of the Hope Community Food Listening Project: a two-and-a-half year process involving local organizations and more than 400 people in community conversations about food access and food justice in the Phillips community of Minneapolis and beyond.
The Feed the Roots Community Food Listening Report provides insights into the experiences and creativity of Phillips community residents, serving as a call to action for organizations, funders, policy makers, and other committed to change rooted in community.
SOUL Food Monologues at Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Dec. 11, 2015
Food Justice Activist and Urban Goddess, LaDonna Redmond, has led several local food leaders through a StoryHealer workshop, designed to uncover and promote the powerful food and justice stories of everyday people working for change. At its core, the SOUL Food Monologues is about authentic expression, creating community, and transforming experiences from grief, trauma, pain, into awareness, insight, wisdom. These elements meld together to create a heart-centered, soul-based opportunity for deep understanding and healing to occur.
The Catherine G. Murphy Gallery at St. Catherine University provided the staging area for IN RESPONSE: An Open Rehearsal of Visual Arts shared by members of Ananya Dance Theatre and two visual art installations, Thursday, December 10.
ADT dancers with David Byrd’s paintings. Photo Petronella Ytsma
ADT’s dancers responded to the work of two artists, David Byrd, “War Is Always With Us,” and Jody Isaacson , “Form and Memory,” with a 50-minute movement meditation on violence, madness, and breath.
On arrival, audience members were invited to light votive candles on the gallery’s entry steps, and all eventually moved with the dancers among Isaacson’s installation of wax pendulums.
Carol Lee Chase, Art/Art History Department Chair and Associate Professor, curated the installations. Her friend, Isaacson, introduced her to Byrd’s paintings.
Dancers and audience move in meditation. Photo Petronella Ytsma
“Form and Memory”: Installation artist Jody Isaacson installs more than 160 hand dipped life pendulums from the gallery ceiling. Each wax form represents a person, now passed away, from Isaacson’s life. One dip for each year of an individual life accumulates into a candle pendulum that represents the time spent to remember each individual. Each relationship builds the installation, the artist’s life history currently suspended in the gallery.
“War Is Always With Us”: For 30 years, the late David Byrd worked as a night orderly in the psychiatric ward in a Veterans Administration Medical Hospital in Montrose, NY. The series of paintings illustrate the daily routines and individual personalities of institutionalized veterans. Byrd’s careful compositions reflect the isolation and desperation of mental illness, which few other artists have explored with such empathy and understanding.
Ananya Chatterjea. Photo P. Ytsma
The Catherine G. Murphy Gallery is located in the Visual Arts Building on the campus of St. Catherine University, 2004 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul. Gallery hours are M-F 8-8, S-S noon-6. “Form and Memory” and “War Is Always With Us” are open free to the public through December 18, 2015.
National Endowment for the Arts Awards More Than $27.6 Million Across Nation
December 8, 2015 – In its first 50 years, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) awarded more than $5 billion in grants to recipients in every state and U.S. jurisdiction, the only arts funder in the nation to do so. Today, the NEA announced awards totaling more than $27.6 million in its first funding round for fiscal year 2016, including a Challenge America award of $10,000 to Ananya Dance Theatre to support the creation and presentation of “Horidraa: Golden Healing” and related activities in 2016.
The Challenge America category supports projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. Challenge America grants are comparatively small investments that have a big impact in their communities.
NEA Chairman Jane Chu said, “The arts are part of our everyday lives – no matter who you are or where you live – they have the power to transform individuals, spark economic vibrancy in communities, and transcend the boundaries across diverse sectors of society. Supporting projects like the one from Ananya Dance Theatre offers more opportunities to engage in the arts every day.”
For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, go to arts.gov
SAGE panelists recognized Ananya Chatterjea, artistic director of Ananya Dance Theatre, as Outstanding Dance Educator, and Chitra Vairavan, dancer and rehearsal assistant, as one of two Outstanding Performers.
Ananya Dance Theatre also had been nominated for Outstanding Ensemble for its 2014 production of “Neel: Blutopias of Radical Dreaming,” staged at The Cowles Center, and its 2015 commissioned production of “Aahvaan: Invoking the Cities,” presented at The Ordway Center.
We extend congratulations to all of the 2015 nominees and awardees.
Ananya Dance Theatre will present the keynote performance at the Crossing Boundaries Festival & Conference, September 25, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The company will present “Roktim: Nurture Incarnadine,” its new production that premieres at The O’Shaughnessy in St. Paul, September 18-19, at the Ethiopian National Theatre.
At the invitation of the U.S. Embassy, the ensemble also will perform in celebrations of 75 years of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Ethiopia, and will present workshops and build relationships with local women’s groups in performance. The Embassy was particularly interested in the way ADT uses the arts to build community.
The Crossing Boundaries Festival is organized by Ethiopian Theater Professionals Association (ETPA) with the collaboration of Addis Ababa University (AAU) College of Performing and Visual Arts, Ethiopian National Theater, and Sundance Institute’s East African Theater Program Ethiopian Alumni.
Crossing Boundaries Festival Ethiopia is part of 15 festivals held all over the world by Performance Studies International (PSI). “Performances won’t just be entertainment but opportunities to think, and explore thoughts of Pan-Africanism” said Surafel Wondimu, international relations coordinator of the event.
‘’We used to wait for westerners to come and conduct such events and when they go we don’t keep them up, but now we believe we can do it independently and responsibly,” said Azeb Worku, artistic director of the festival.
Performers from 10 different countries will perform. There will be 19 performances, 12 from abroad and the rest by local artists. Meaza Worku, program director, said that the festival and conference will include a variety of events such as photograph exhibitions, food art performance, visual art, traditional Ethiopian dance, and poetic Jazz. In addition, there will be presentations and discussion on various topics related to art in the region.
Nebiyu Baye from Addis Ababa University said that the Festival and conference will help students see theater from a new perspective and learn about theatrical arts beyond the confines of the classroom.
Ananya Dance Theatre departs Minneapolis-St. Paul on Sunday, September 20, and returns on Tuesday, September 29.
Flow from a yogic half-moon balance into flexed feet grounded jumps into footwork marked by asymmetric rhythms. Experience 
Learn and move with BLM Artistic Directors Carl Flink and Emilie Plauche Flink and their ballistic movers during a rigorous daily schedule that will challenge your physical and creative limits. Each day begins with a contemporary movement technique class, followed by a short partnering laboratory, and ends with a focused, two-hour repertory rehearsal. Flink will give a presentation on his dynamic collaborations with scientists and creation of TED Talks during the week.
Shapiro & Smith Dance performs tales of beauty and biting wit that run the gamut from searingly provocative to absurdly hilarious. Dancing with breathtaking physicality and emotional depth, SSD has earned an international reputation for virtuosity, substance, craft, and pure abandonment. Classes in contemporary technique and repertory will be led by Laura Selle Virtucio, Scott Mettille, and Joanie Smith. The intensive week will re-stage “Hands,” a work that examines the power and beauty of people’s hands.
Ananya Dance Theatre will present the keynote performance at the Crossing Boundaries Festival & Conference, September 25, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.