Ananya Dance Theatre’s “Nün Gherāo” at The O’Shaughnessy

Ananya Dance Theatre explores betrayal, dispossession, and exile, and the desperate global resistance against great odds that fuels hope and survival in a new piece that premieres at The O’Shaughnessy, Friday-Saturday, September 30-October 1, at 7:30pm.

ASL-interpreted on Friday, September 30.

Using the 1978-79 massacre of 10,000 refugees on the Marichjhapi Island in West Bengal, India, as its point of departure, Nün Gherāo: Surrounded by Salt tags and stimulates different sites of memory through meditations on dancing in salt water, where one’s tears meet the rising and warming oceans of our world.

Choreographed by Ananya Chatterjea and performed by the artists of Ananya Dance Theatre, Nün Gherāo (“noon ghey-raow”) becomes activated through shared breath and rhythms, practices of  mourning, overlapping time cycles, ritualized movement, dances of liberation and personal connection.

The choreographic language of Yorchhā employs movement principles of Odissi, Mayurbhanj Chhau, and Vinyasa Yoga to articulate a contemporary feminist consciousness and aesthetic.

This world premiere features the work of an exceptional team of collaborators, including sound artist Spirit McIntyre (performing live), stage director Marcus Young, lighting designer Kevin A. Jones, costume designer Annie Cady, scenery designer Chelsea Warren, properties designer Kezia Florence, writer Mimi Mondal, and filmmaker Darren Johnson.

The O’Shaughnessy at St. Catherine University is located at 2004 Randolph Avenue in Saint Paul. Ananya Dance Theatre and The O’Shaughnessy are implementing Pay What You Can for these performances. The suggested ticket price is $30. For more information and tickets, contact The O’Shaughnessy Ticket Office at 651.690.6700 or online at https://oshag.stkate.edu.

Nün Gherāo was commissioned by the Center for the Arts, Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Nün Gherāo was created in part during a residency at the Pillow Lab at Jacob’s Pillow. Nün Gherāo is supported by the City of Saint Paul Cultural Sales Tax Rehabilitation Program and by the Marbrook Foundation. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. This project is also 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.artsgov. Ananya Dance Theatre is supported by the Regional Cultural Treasures Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation, Ford Foundation, and McKnight Foundation.