Ananya Chatterjea

🪔 About

Ananya Chatterjea is a contemporary Indian dancer, choreographer, and scholar, widely recognized for her innovative work at the intersection of artistic excellence and social justice. Born in Kolkata (Bengal), India, Chatterjea received her foundational training in Indian classical and folk dance, with a particular emphasis on the Odissi style. In the early 1990s, she moved to New York City to pursue her doctorate degree at Columbia University. Chatterjea currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she serves as a Professor of Dance and Director of the Dance Program at the University of Minnesota. In 2004, Chatterjea founded Ananya Dance Theatre (ADT), a professional, contemporary Indian dance company comprised of women artists of color (BIPOC women and femmes). As the company's founder, artistic director, and choreographer, she has developed a unique contemporary feminist dance language called Yorchhā™, which integrates techniques from traditional Odissi, the martial art Chhau, and Vinyasa Yoga. Her choreographic methodology, Shawngrām™ (meaning "resistance" in Bangla), focuses on creating social justice choreography that addresses global issues and inspires transformation. Ananya Dance Theatre's work, described as "People Powered Dances of Transformation," has toured extensively to national and international venues, including festivals in Palestine, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and India. Beyond her choreographic and performance work, Chatterjea is a prolific scholar. She is the author of "Heat & Alterity in Contemporary Dance: South-South Choreographies" (Palgrave McMillan, 2020), which received the 2022 Brockett Book Prize from the Dance Studies Association. She also co-edited the anthology "Dancing Transnational Feminisms: Ananya Dance Theatre and the Art of Social Justice" (University of Washington Press, 2022). Her teaching at the University of Minnesota includes courses in Dance Studies and contemporary practice, where she introduces students to Yorchhā™ and her social justice-oriented approach to dance. Awards & Honours: Graduate Research Award (1996), Asian Arts Initiative Grant (1997), Best Choreographer (2007), Guggenheim Choreography Fellowship (2011), McKnight Choreography Fellowship (2012), Joyce Award (2016), UBW Choreographic Center Fellow (2018), Dance/USA Artist Fellowship (2019), A. P. Andersen Award (2021), Brockett Book Prize (2022), Gertrude Lippincott Award, Awards from BIHA (Black Indian Hispanic Asian) Women In Action organization, MN Women's Political Caucus award, 21 leaders for the 21st Century Award, Josie Johnson Social Justice and Human Rights Award.