Shalaka Kulkarni, Sara Maslanka, and Ellyzabeth Adler in “Bindis and Bruises.”
Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble, a cutting-edge dance/theatre company whose artistic director, Sara Maslanka (BA ’13), is a Columbia College Chicago Dance Department alum, will present a special performance of its new work Bindis and Bruises as part of Columbia’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month events programming in April.
The performance, presented in collaboration with Columbia College Chicago’s Department of Creative Arts Therapies, takes place Wednesday, April 13, at 5 PM at Columbia College’s Gallery 101, located at 33 E. Congress in Chicago’s Loop.
Conceived and co-choreographed by Priya Narayan (MA ’14), an alum of the interdisciplinary arts graduate program in Columbia’s Art & Art History Department, the work tells the individual stories of eight women suffering from sexual, dating, and domestic abuse in Indian-American culture. Incorporating classical Indian dances (Bharatanatyam and Kathak) and religious Hindu storytelling with elements of modern dance and texts, Bindis and Bruises brings awareness to issues of domestic violence to offer solutions for change and hope.
Bindis and Bruises weaves together the stories through dance and theatre to uncover inner strength and hope with a unified voice, addressing the fact that one out of four women will be victims of abuse. A multiracial cast of 10 women, including Maslanka, breaks down the stereotypes and shame that often silences victims. Besides Maslanka and Narayan, the cast includes Columbia College Chicago alumni Shalaka Kulkarni (BA ’06), a graduate of the school’s arts management program, and Lucia Mier y Terán (MA ’14), a graduate of Columbia’s interdisciplinary arts graduate program.
