July 11, 2015

ADT dancers conduct field trip research at Dream of Wild Health in Hugo, Minnesota

Staff of Dream of Wild Health farm, Hugo MN, visit with ADT dancers Kealoha Ferreira, Magnolia Yang Sao Yia, and Prakshi Malik

The dancers of Ananya Dance Theatre visited the Dream of Wild Health, a 10-acre organic farm in Hugo, Minnesota, July 10, as part of their research for the creation of Roktim: Nurture Incarnadine. Hugo is a commuter town 14 miles north of downtown Saint Paul in Washington County.

Surrounded by plants and medicines grown from the seeds of ancestors, “the Dream” is to help American Indian people reclaim their physical, spiritual, and mental health, teaching old ways of growing food and living healthy lives.

ADT dancer Jay Galtney at Dream of Wild Health farm, Hugo MN

“Roktim,” a full-length work of dance theater, will premiere at The O’Shaughnessy, Sept. 18-19.

Inspired by the Seed Sovereignty Movement and farming practices in local communities of color, choreographer Ananya Chatterjea, Jones, and behavioral artist Marcus Young are partnering with Frogtown Farm, Afro Eco, and the Indigenous Peoples’ Task Force to produce a story reflecting and honoring the age-old work of women who cultivate, nurture, and protect land and agriculture with emotional and blood labor to create a just and sustainable food system for our shared future.