Ankita Sharma's Explosive DHOKA/BETRAYAL To Be Performed This May At JACK

Fire, Power, and Kali Collide in Ankita Sharma's Explosive dhoka/Betrayal/ this May at JACK, running May 15 - May 17, 2025. Created and performed by Ankita Sharma.

The sacred energy of fire bubbles over in dhoka/Betrayal/, a destructive dance-theater duet which entangles Hindu goddess Kali's ultimate power with ethnonationalism. This fire is one that South-Asian artists and physical practitioners have harnessed since ancient times, acting as a reminder of one's own power and as a tool of resistance. dhoka reclaims this heat to reimagine Kali's mythology with the eroticism, androgyneity, gore, and epicness that often gets written out of post-colonial South-Asian art. Audiences accompany Kali as her image is deified, westernized, and destroyed - a ritualistic transformation that invokes the manipulation of power structures through worship. With Kali's ultimate power bathed in authoritarianism, dhoka traces the pathway from destruction to recreation using worship. 

At its core, dhoka started as a scathing letter to ethnonationalism in India and an examination of Sharma's own mixed relationship to Hinduism, Islam, caste, class, the military, and the West. dhoka sits with the aggression of fire as an antidote to the padding of India's upper-caste elite. And yet, this work is not made for India. It is made for India's descendants who are sent abroad. It is made for the South-Asian diaspora, acting as a criticism of the dominant Hindu-washing Brahmanism that has seeped into the US diaspora's politics, education,  yoga classes, and Netflix series. Alongside this criticism is also catharsis for the diaspora's pain and everything that is lost in translation. In a Hindu culture that is rapidly masculinizing itself amidst a weeping world of violence, dhoka invokes the feminine in one cathartic cry and a terrifying, bloodied tongue. 

dhoka/Betrayal/ is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, Performance Project Fellowship at University Settlement, GALLIM Moving Artists Residency, Base: Experimental Arts + Space Residency, Mare Nostrum Emerging Choreographer's Series, and Aangan's Movement Salon.

Content Warning:
Contains scenes of violence, sexuality, and full nudity. Intended for audiences 18+. 

Creative Team:
Created and Performed by Ankita Sharma
Sound Design by Max Sarkowsky 
Set Design by Soren Kodak 
Performed by Eyner Roman
Vocals by Saluja Siwakoti

Performance Dates & Times:
Thursday, May 15th at 7:30pm
Friday, May 16th at 7:30pm
Saturday, May 17th at 3:00pm
Saturday, May 17th at 7:30pm

Tickets:
$10 - $50 (sliding scale), available HERE

Location: 20 Putnam Ave in Brooklyn. C or G train to Clinton - Washington. Shuttle to Franklin Ave. https://www.jackny.org/visit-us

Photo: (for press) located HERE 

About the Artists:
Ankita Sharma is an experimental movement-based performance artist invested in storytelling where content dictates genre and betrays expectation. They create to think critically, unpacking systems and symptoms of power from a queer, punk solidarity-based lens that rehearses freedom in the body and mind. In aesthetic, their work is a grungy, confrontational, cheeky dance-horror with physical practices rooted in Contemporary dance, Dance-Theater, and forms from both the South Asian and the African diaspora. For Ankita, performance audiences are agentive, sitting with and challenging discomfort in environments where sophistication and blasphemy collide. Ankita holds degrees in Dance and Anthropology and currently lives in New York. They have had live work performed throughout the US, including at: Denver Art Museum, Abrons Art Center, Dixon Place, The Tank, BASE, JACK, Ormao, Brockus Dance Project, and University Settlement. Their films have been presented internationally. They have received funding and support from Performance Project, GALLIM, NYSCA, Base Experimental Arts + Space, The Barn, ECS, LEIMAY, Crown-Goodman, and more. In their spare time, they have managed several award-winning dance-theater companies, including Punchdrunk's Sleep No More. ankitacreates.space @nki.creates

Max Sarkowsky is a designer, musician and collaborative art-maker based in Seattle, exploring the boundaries between design disciplines for live performance. Max creates unique soundscapes, music, and visuals for a variety of projects including plays, dance, circus, installations, podcasts, and film.  His freelance work with regional companies in Seattle and Colorado includes; Acrobatic Conundrum, The UMO Ensemble, ArtsWest, Sound Theatre Company, eSe Teatro, Vashon Repertory Theatre, Tales of the Alchemysts Theatre, and others, as well as Colorado College in Colorado Springs. maxsarkowsky.com

Soren Kodak is a set designer, fabricator, and sculptural artist. He has created sets for theatrical works across the US. Soren is particularly passionate about creating designs for movement and play. He has worked with artists such as Eiko Otake, nora chipaumire, Baye & Asa, and ankita. Some of his recent work in New York has been seen with Bednark, Studio Guereux, and at Baryshnikov Arts Center. When Soren isn't designing and building, he spends his time as a professional runner and outdoor athlete.

Eyner Roman is a South American artist currently oscillating between the worlds of contemporary and urban dance. His movement seeks to explore the binaries we all inhabit: masculine/feminine, harsh/kind, dreamy/structured. His trajectory studying both dance and data analytics has encouraged him to explore systems, methods, and rules within creative movement. His style has been influenced by genres popular in Peru, his home country. These include energetic reggaeton and social salsa. He has trained at Dactilares, Soulful and Wolfgang Dance Studio in Lima. Currently, he is part of the Company at Spotlight Dance Academy.

Saluja Siwakoti is an artist from Nepal who uses theater, painting, poetry, music, and dance to speak of how she is at unease with the world as it is. She is currently working as an actress for Fade Out Pictures in Kathmandu while working as a teaching artist. Saluja holds dual degrees in Environmental Science and Feminist and Gender Studies. 

Process collaborators included Blaize Adler-Ivanbrook, Shivani Badgi, and Isa Hussain. 

About JACK:
JACK is an award-winning multidisciplinary performance meets civic space in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. JACK was created to fuel experiments in art and activism, collaborating with artists and neighbors to build a more just and vibrant society. We present over 40 shows a year in music, dance, theater, host conversations and events on issues that are important to our neighbors. JACK's programming centers artists who have been historically marginalized and those dedicated to our collective liberation. Learn more online @jackartsny and www.jackny.org

JACK's programming is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with Mayor Eric Adams, Speaker Adrienne Adams and the City Council, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, Howard Gilman Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, The Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Emma A. Sheafer Charitable Trust, The Hyde & Watson Foundation, Harkness Foundation for Dance, Actors Equity Foundation, The Jerome Foundation, John Golden Foundation, Mental Insight Foundation, The Bains Family Foundation, IndieSpace's The Big Give grant, JKW Foundation and Ridgewood Savings Bank, Jody Falco & Jeffrey Steinman in addition to many generous individuals.