Colorado-based artists explore the complexity of endings in Adyananta

By Melissa Voss

A dynamic celebration of movement, culture and collaboration unfolds soon in Lakewood. Through dance, performers will explore the emotional journey of beginnings and endings in Adyananta, a production presented by Mudra Dance Studio through the classical dance tradition of kathak, which is fused with bharatanatyam, tango, West African, samba and jazz styles.

Adyananta Dance Show
Where: Lakewood Cultural Center
When: Aug. 21 to 24
Cost: $40

Formed in 1999, Mudra Dance Studio has been led by Namita Khanna Narani after she was approached by several mothers asking if she would teach their daughters to dance. Mudra stems from Narani’s passion for kathak, an Indian dance form that focuses on expressive storytelling through intricate footwork, arm movement and facial expressions. Mudra fuses the various dance styles, while blending in culture and history.

“My saying is that passion is the only pre-requisite. Dance and music is a universal language that can be spoken by anyone,” Narani shares.

The performance highlights numerous Colorado-based artists – from slam poets to costume designers and drum professors. Adyananta stands for more than just a performance – it is a cross-cultural dialogue told through rhythm, diversity, and the power of the human body in motion.

The production is years in the making – from choreography, to music, to costume design. Adyananta (ah-dee-yahn-NAHN-tha) in Sanskrit roughly means: that with no beginning nor end. Mudra takes pride in the amount of craftsmanship that it takes to put on a production of Adyananta’s size. Mudra brought their director, producers, and production manager to Mumbai, India, to work with Mumbai fashion designer Aradhana on costumes and jewelry.

“The detail needed to create the concept perfectly only happens when I am able to see the cloth and see what the possibilities are,” Narani says. “Mudra has gotten to the point where our costume designer is making 600 outfits for us. It’s one of those relationships where you don’t feel constrained with your creative language.”

Mudra music director Aaron Templer is a Berklee-trained percussionist who leads the Mudra Rhythm Section, a drum ensemble that was created in the Mudra Dance Studio. For years, Narani and Templer have worked side-by-side in curating the rhythmic foundation that brings dancers together. In the current work, both have come together as the production’s co-creators.

“We complement each other creatively. We are truly grateful for people like Aaron with intense passion and knowledge that go beyond the superficial and expand the human thought process and experience through putting so many art forms together. It has truly been a gift,” Narani states.

Adyananta features original music by composer Aakash Mittal – a first for Mudra Dance Studio. Mittal is trained in both Eastern and Western music forms, further amplifying Mudra’s celebration of inclusivity and blending of forms.

“Having the music (recorded) all live with these beautiful, diverse musicians together in one room is what Mudra Dance Studio is,” Narani says.

The performance incorporates slam poetry from Denver native and current U.S. State Department Arts Envoy to Cyprus, Dominique Christina, as a spoken component to the rhythmically visual performance.

“Adyananta felt like a pulse-check on the times we’re living through — a meditation on rupture and rebirth — and I was drawn to that,” Christina shares. “My poems will serve as another beautiful layer for the audience to enter the performance with an awareness of what’s falling away, and what might begin to bloom in its wake.”

Narani and Templer believe that Adyananta will become a bridge that extends the audience’s mind to what it means to have a journey end, or begin again. Adyananta is also a stem of a new beginning for Mudra Dance Studio because Narani’s daughter, Eishita, has taken the lead on dance instruction.

“Every dance movement is merely a transition, a setup for the next movement,” says music director Templer. “Everything is intentional as artists really look into how to end a movement to start a new beginning. People are very focused on fixing things before they end but we want to set up this new perspective as the cycle continues.”