The Earth Speaks is an evening-length odyssey; a multi-disciplinary work with Bharatanatyam, Classical music and Spoken word poetry interwoven to raise awareness on climate change. The work reflects our interconnectedness with nature and our impact on climate. It is a story of a woman, who is a metaphor for earth. What she says to all that is happening around her, her whelm and us. When that connection, that umbilical cord is disturbed or even severed what happens to our being, our existence? The production incorporates Indian mythology and contemporary stories to tell the story of the EARTH in HER voice. A show for all ages that was nominated for the prestigious Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Company Performance.
Produced by Samudra Dance Creations
Artistic Direction & Choreography by Jyotsna Vaidee
Original Music Composition by Snigdha Venkatramani
Spoken Word Poetry by Alyssa Ninan Nickel
Ensemble Dancers: Aishwarya Raman, Anisha Ramakrishnan, Nikita Sreekant, Sriya Srirangarajan
Artistic Director & Choreographer Jyotsna Vaidee
Jyotsna Vaidee is an award winning Bharatanatyam choreographer and dancer and the founder of Samudra Dance Creations. She is a disciple of Gurus Padma Bhushan Prof. C.V Chandrasekhar and Nritya Kalanidhi Smt. Bragha Bessell. She is the founder and director of California based professional dance company Samudra Dance Creations. Samudra has presented at several festivals including Erasing Borders New York, San Francisco Arts Festival, the PushDance Fest and the Ragamala Music Society of Canada. Jyotsna has created a number of full length original choreographic productions including The Quest Unsaid, The Caged Birds Sings, The Earth Speaks”, her most recent work a Dance on Film “STORM” that premiered at the Erasing Borders Festival. In addition to her ensemble choreographic work, Jyotsna is a well-established Bharatanatyam soloist who has immersed herself in the art for over 25 years. She is a regular performer at India’s (Chennai) December dance and music season and has performed full length solo concerts “Margam” at reputed festivals.’
Music Composer Snigdha Venkataramani
Snigdha Venkataramani is an accomplished Carnatic vocalist and has undergone training under various senior teachers for over two decades, prominent among them being veteran vocalists Padmabhushan Guru Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana, Sh. K. Vageesh and Smt. K. Sudha, Smt. Sarada Subramanian and Guru Smt Radhakrishna. She is currently training under the internationally-acclaimed vocal duo – Sh. K.N. Shashikiran and Chitravina P. Ganesh, popularly known as the Carnatica Brothers. She received the Junior Scholarship from the Center for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT), Government of India, and is a graded artist of the All India Radio, New Delhi. She has released two music albums – “SAMARPANAM”, of Carnatic music compositions and “NATYA MANJARI”, which comprises a repertoire for Bharatanatyam dance. Snigdha is also an established Bharatanatyam dancer having trained under Padma Bhushan Dr. Saroja Vaidyanathan. Snigdha is a popular vocalist for dance having performed with several senior Gurus and promising youngsters. She is actively sought after for composing musical scores for dance productions. Snigdha teaches Carnatic vocal and Bharatanatyam under her institution ‘Laya Dhwani Academy of performing arts’ and her students have won prizes in many prestigious regional and national competitions.
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