NYRA'S DREAMS Premieres in Chicago Next Month
Performances run October 27 - November 19.
Prop Thtr and SurTaal Dance have announced the world premiere of Nyra’s Dreams, created and performed by Shalaka Kulkarni and directed by Stefan Brun, October 27 - November 19 at Chicago Dramatists, 1109 W. Chicago Ave. The co-production of Nyra’s Dreams incorporates contemporary dance and traditional Indian classical dance, media and varied characters to bring Nyra and her quest to life. Opening night is Friday, Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. The performance schedule is Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. with Industry Nights, to be announced. Tickets are suggested price of $20 or pay-what-you-can at Shalakak.com/surtaaldance.
A co-production of Prop Thtr and SurTaal Dance, Nyra’s Dance, a movement play incorporates multiple story-telling vessels to tell of Nyra, who walks between different worlds and connects within her fragmented mind to women who teach her about resilience, frailty and hope, helping her realize her real quest to find her way back home to Dyavaprthivi, that resides between heaven and earth. Nyra is a character devised out of myths/mythological stories found in Indian culture and documented experiences about the Devadasi (temple dancer) system and its existence now.
Nyra’s Dreams is another step in SurTaal Dance’s exploration of how to employ Indian classical dance vocabulary to celebrate female experience in nontraditional performances. This world premiere is the culmination of text, travel, collaboration, film, choreography and composition - of which an experimental 10-minute film, completed in April 2023, has premiered in Paris, Seoul and Assam.
The production of Nyra’s Dreams is the inaugural presentation of Prop Thtr’s leadership team project. This project’s goal is to find new forms and structures outside of traditional show business to generate, incubate, develop, produce and give continued life to new work in the performing arts.
Shalaka Kulkarni (she/her/hers) is an interdisciplinary dance artist. Trained in Indian Classical dances- Bharatanatyam and Kathak, she creates experiences that bridge the ancient and contemporary, uplifting marginalized voices. She is interested in creating and presenting a hybrid movement form that fuses techniques of Bharatnatyam and Kathak with other movement influences, text, film and technology. She has performed in India, US and Europe and is excited to present her first solo play with Stefan Brun and Prop Thtr in Chic
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