Photo Flash: Chicago DanzTheatre's BINDIS AND BRUISES

From creator Priya Narayan, Bindis and Bruises is a dance and theater production bringing awareness and hope around domestic violence and sexual abuse; a piece that highlights the abuse while providing solutions of change. The dance piece incorporates classical Indian dances such as Bharatanatyam and Kathak, which incorporate storytelling of Hindu religious stories. Check out some promotional photos from the piece, below!

Bindis and Bruises will take a modern perspective with the content focused on societal issues. The movement inspires a change in the mindset surrounding the plight of women in today's society. In developing the production, workshop opportunities with local domestic violence shelters will bring together realistic emotions into the piece, and is also inspired by Bill T. Jones' work Still Here. The dance production will have individuals trained in the classical Indian dances, plus modern and contemporary. Bindis and Bruises consists of six episodes, describing and creating awareness on different kinds of abuse.

Every episode will be 10 minutes, beginning with 2-3 minutes describing the abuse in a theatrical form, followed by 6-7 minutes of a dance solution. While there are many works that describe abuse, Bindis and Bruises opts to stay in a positive light by providing solutions and thoughts on how to prevent and rehabilitate the abused. The first episode is the "Ten-Armed Woman," describing how today's working woman juggles professional and family life will being passionate in other aspects of life. Other episodes include scenarios surrounding arranged marriage, love marriage in the Indian American community as well as child rape, domestic partnerships, and living alone.