Sthree

“ Sthree expands the boundaries of Bharatanatyam by amplifying its supple gestures and sculpted shapes into a richly evocative dance drama. …the way in which these dancers alter the very textures of their bodies from moment to moment—they thicken, sharpen, attenuate, and refine the highly inflected vocabulary of Bharatanatyam—captures the protean spirit of the dance form.”(Dance Magazine)

Inspired by the ancient Tamil epic Silappathikaram (The Anklet), and set to an original score composed and played by Dr. L. Subramaniam—unquestionably one of India’s greatest violinists— Sthree is an evening-length work that will transport the audience to the splendor of India’s Sangam Period, an era of great cultural renaissance when art, literature, music and drama flourished. Accompanied by English narration and by a chorus of seven women dancers, Sthree is a haunting contemporary adaptation that explores the underlying tension between the principles of karma and dharma, the basis of the Hindu belief system.

Watch video excerpts from Sthree

Created with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Cultural Community Partnership grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board (made possible in part by an appropriation from the Minnesota Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts), and Meet the Composer’s Commissioning Music/USA program (with generous support from the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Francis Goelet Trust, the Helen F. Whitaker Fund, Target, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts).