Austin Dance India To Spotlight Reverence Of Earth Across Time

AUSTIN, TX — Since the beginning of recorded history, there has been concern over the health of Earth — as illustrated in the mythologies of ancient cultures expressing reverence toward a planet viewed as a living goddess. This coming weekend, Austin Dance India will illustrate that perennial reverence in the form of dance, music and spoken word.

Anuradha Naimpally, artistic director of Austin Dance India, brings her social practice into the spotlight with "Sacred Earth Stories" at the Emma Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center on Saturday, June 29, and Sunday, June 30. Connecting ancient Greek, Indian and Peruvian mythologies to current issues of sustainability and global climate change, Sacred Earth Stories features Bharata Natyam, a traditional style of Indian dance, an original score played live by local musicians and spoken word commentary in a dynamic 90-minute performance.

Organizers noted how mythologies of ancient cultures often personified Earth as a life-giving goddess. Sacred Earth Stories is an original performance directed by Naimpally in which tales of Bhoomi Devi (Mother Earth in Indian mythologies), Gaia (Earth Goddess in Greek mythologies) and Pachamama (Goddess of Fertility and Abundance in Peruvian mythologies) are presented through the lens of our current deforestation and pollution issues, organizers added.

In preparing the performance, Naimpally told Patch she partnered with the local chapter of Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL) to reinforce the message of the performance and add contextual elements. She also worked with Austin-based Rainforest Partnership to source original stories from Peruvian rainforest communities, along with sounds, images and videos, to inform sections that include Pachamama.

“Sacred Earth Stories is bringing these stories together to show how we're all globally connected,” said Niyanta Spelman, Founder and CEO of Rainforest Partnership. “We're using art and performance to share this important message and meet people where they are.”

A seven-part musical ensemble, featuring traditional Indian instruments including the sitar, tabla, kanjira, doumbek, mridangam and harmonium as well as Andean pan flute and rainforest sounds, provides musical backdrop for the performance, "...which urges a respectful alliance with our Earth to protect its resources for the next generation," organizers noted in a press advisory.

Austin Dance India students Soumya Ashok, Sanjana Aluru and Sreenidhi Tupuri, Austin-based professional dancer Preya Patel and Anu Naimpally will take the stage in traditional, custom-designed costumes from India. Spoken word from Carla Nickerson and projected images from CCL and Rainforest Partnership will further connect ancient mythology to current environmental changes throughout the show. Both performances will be followed by a Q&A session with Sacred Earth Stories choreographer Anu Naimpally, members of the cast and representatives from CCL and Rainforest Partnership.

Photo courtesy of Austin Dance India, used with permission.

“Expressing urgency through the arts feels like a novel way to inspire action and avoid complacency,” said Susan Adams, Regional Coordinator for Citizens' Climate Lobby, Third Coast Region. “I want viewers to walk away feeling inspired and empowered to take action on climate change.”

This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department and Austin Creative Alliance. Performances take place on Saturday, June 29 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, June 30 at 2 p.m. Admission to Sacred Earth Stories is $20 for the general public; $15 for students and seniors. Tickets are available online by clicking here.

Photo of Anu Naimpally courtesy of Austin Dance India, used with permission.

Patch spoke to Naimpally by telephone at length recently to learn more. The ancient reverence to Earth in ages past readily inform today's environmental issues despite the passage of eons, she suggested. "It's connecting ancient Earth mythologies from three different cultures to current-day climate issues," she said, explaining the premise of the upcoming performance.

She favors an ancient form of Indian classical dance, which she called "the birthplace of my tradition." Such temples flourished as cultural centers in ancient times, not unlike the venue of her upcoming performance fills a similar role today.

The inspiration for the upcoming performance was partly informed by today's issues related to the environment, further spurred by a United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Naimpally said.

"The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all," UN officials wrote on the organization's home page. "They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. The goals interconnect and in order to leave no one behind, it ís important that we achieve each Goal and target by 2030."

Naimpally suggested the ambitious aim of the UN led her to think of how those sage worldviews of the past can help inform those working to save the planet. "This year, I was interested in doing something on the very important topic of climate change we're facing," she said. "Thinking of these mythologies, and how we can incorporate them with what we're experiencing currently in our world."

In exploring other cultures' traditions, she was struck by the common threads whether from the Hindu, Greek or Andean experience: "In each mythology, Earth is abused by humans or individuals taking advantage of Earth for their own greed," she said. "That's what's happening now."

The past, as it turns out, is indeed prologue: "I find these issues aren't new," Naimpally said. "They've been thought of before or maybe they're foreshadowing."

ABOUT ANURADHA NAIMPALLY

Anuradha Naimpally is an experienced dance soloist, choreographer, collaborator, educator and social practitioner. She connects modern audiences of all ages to the ancient arts of India through her organization Austin Dance India (ADI). A recipient of numerous awards—including the Canada Council's Jacqueline LeMieux Prize—Naimpally has been named Best Dancer by the Austin Area Critics' Circle and one of the “Movers and Shakers” in the Arts by the Austin Chronicle. She is a recognized artist by the Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Roster and holds the title of “Sringara Mani” (Artistic Jewel) in India. In 2017, she received an Artistic Innovations Grant from the Mid-America Arts Alliance and in 2018 was inducted into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame.