Ananya Dance Theatre explores betrayal, dispossession, 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.
Ananya Dance Theatre and The O’Shaughnessy are implementing Pay What You Can for these performances with a suggested ticket price of $30.
Learn more about Nün Gherāo.