Soham Dance Space

What happens when we move together in a circle? Thank you to everyone who joined us, moved with us, and reflected with us in September! The beauty of resident artist @parijatdesai ’s vision for garba circle dance to activate community was felt profoundly across three city parks. Together with collaborating artists, @sebleona @de_roc_moves @empressdarlingshear @silvitadiazbrown @_solbowser , Parijat Desai and Soham Dance Space produced Dance In The Round and an excerpt of Parijat’s How Do I Become We performance. This was the culmination of our pilot Artist-in-Residence program, and we were thrilled to see what came to life! Gratitude and inspiration fills our hearts! #NightOutintheParks #ChicagoDance #YearofChicagoDance #DCASEgrants #garbaseason #garba #circledance #community #activation #inclusion #healing

Feeling sentimental as this is the last season of Alyssa Gregory’s bold, authentic, and community-centering project, The Process Podcast @the.process.podcast , that Soham Dance Space has the honor of being a part of before we sunset. In 2021, we piloted our Producing Partnership program, raised $10k from 112 donors to seed this project, secured the $10k CDF Digital Dance Grant with Alyssa, and have been absolutely inspired to work as co-producer behind the scenes in support of three dynamic seasons, each a distinctly unique format for conversations with local dancemakers about their creative processes. Led by Alyssa’s vision and producing chops, the first season brought us 9 episodes of audio convos; the second season boasted a live showing of work-in-progress and a live taping with the studio audience; and the third season - which drops THIS FRIDAY, Sep. 20th - is Alyssa’s smart stab at video podcasting over a shared meal. Every single season has been thoughtful and this next one, the most gorgeous yet. 
Subscribe to The Process Podcast Youtube & Spotify channels to catch this season - The Group Chat - which brings together a powerhouse crew of Chicago makers and movers to unpack what it really means to create within an ensemble. Kudos to Alyssa for boldly experimenting with this project in so many beautiful ways that have thrilled the dance community again and again. Thank you to everyone involved! @the.process.podcast @uhhleeesa @moll_jean @tightrope_recording @vitigrrl @yaddawould @jeninpixels @artspubliclife @sohamdancespace @anjalchande @chicagodancemakersforum @jasminelupemendoza @itspochop @kase_face89 @breonarzell @the_big_gonsiorowski @e__kilmurray @livedeeliciously @han_michal @anjalchande @tuli_____b @feliciaholman @elysiacbanks @01saratonin @mitsusalmon @chris_maddog_fwk @steelotheera @tia.greer_re @theamtraklor @kierah.king @_dejaviews_ @kbrody_ @rahilacoats @camila.expt @sjswilley_

“..To be in process, in collaborative, collective, anything, it still requires that rawness and I think it always will if you really want the work to be genuine” Maker and mover SJ Swilley speaks on vulnerability and genuineness during an ensemble process during The Group Chat. LISTEN to the conversation and WATCH the video on September 20th! Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen AND subscribe to our Youtube channel so you don’t miss the video premiere! Links in bio! 🎥: @moll_jean

Soham Dance Space is closing out its 17-year journey by hosting a Sunset Residency this summer with Aleen Olivares, Amina Dreessen, Ashwaty Chennat, Felicia Holman, Izayo Mazehualli, Keyierra Collins, Kinnari Vora, Maya Odim, Shireen Hamza, and Zachary Nicol. The ask? To be with their bodies, to be with the space, and to be with Soham in its final hours. This last Soham hurrah offers each resident a $2000 artist fee and ample chance to be, rest, play, mourn, cry, dream, remember, incubate, and honor this current moment, whatever that means for them. As the light softens in the sky and Soham returns to the ground, I hope this ending will fertilize many new beginnings through these artists and beyond. -Anjal @uhhhleen @aminamay_orshemaynot @shwatcat @feliciaholman @itsyaotl @anina.bymanynames @kinnarivora @maya.odim @sweetness_and_power @zxnicl 🌅🌅🌅🌅🌅🌅🌅🌅 (This program is a reshaped expression of Anjal Chande’s “Space Dance Temple Body Gut Gut Gut Gut”, a project which received an Arts Work Fund grant.) 🌅🌅🌅🌅🌅🌅🌅🌅 ICYMI: As announced in January, Soham Dance Space sunsets September 30th. Please take a moment to share your love, a photo memory, or what Soham has meant to you on our Sunset Board. Thank you so much for taking the time to help us celebrate through your / the community’s voices! Link in bio. 🙏🏽

The Chattopadhyay & Sujdak Families in partnership with Soham Dance Space   Cordially invite you to the 
Bharatanatyam Arangetram  of their daughters  Ishani Chattopadhyay & Sanya Sujdak Disciples of Anjal Chande,  Artistic Director of Soham Dance Space, & Savitha Chelladurai, Teaching Artist   on   Saturday, July 13, 2024, 5-7PM Seating begins at 4:30PM The Kehrein Center For The Arts 5628 W Washington Blvd, Chicago Accompanied by live orchestra Light refreshments to follow RSVP by July 1st:  /arangetram-of-ishani-and-sanya (link in bio) ~ Arangetram literally means “ascending the stage.” It is considered a debut—the first formal performance for seasoned students to display their basic mastery of the art form through a solo recital lasting about two hours. The arangetram marks the artistic blossoming of disciples under the tutelage of their guru, and it is regarded as a culmination of their years of training.

Six artists’ respond to Anjal Chande’s The Next Cup of Tea. Read responses by Ashwaty Chennat, Keyierra Collins, Shireen Hamza, Chrissy Martin, Bundo Onwueme, & Anand Venkatkrishnan NOW live on PRJ! #LinkInBio 📸 Ricardo Adame • • • #Performance #Response #Journal #Chicago #Dance #Writers #Artists

3rd out of 3 total duet arangetram photo shoots complete for Soham Dance Space. That this July’s arangetram will be our last is sentimental to say the least (2017 with Rupa and Nikki, 2020 with Ashna and Anjali, and now 2024 with these lovelies). Soham sunsets in September. The arc of growth, culmination, change, and unknown horizons is reverberating as memories with all the students who have been a part of Soham’s classes since 2007 wash over me. Honored to do this last hurrah with Sanya and Ishani, two spirits whose love for the creative process exemplifies some of the values that seeded Soham Dance Space to begin with. Save the date for their arangetram, July 13th, because it will be a beautiful and emooooooooootional day. Endless love to all who have been on this journey with me. 🙏🏽 -Anjal

Last but not least, the 3rd Soham commission to reflect back on our pilot Artist-in-Residence program is a tenderly-crafted 8-minute film produced by Rishi Productions! This is an excerpt of the full video, which captures the intentions and manifestations of Soham’s pilot, from the virtual convenings, studio rehearsals, and participatory circle dance gatherings in 3 Chicago parks. Our hearts still feel full looking back on all that is possible when we move together in a circle. Enjoy the lovely film recap on the Soham Dance Space website (link in bio)! Special thanks to: Parijat Desai @parijatdesai , Timothy “Solomon” Bowser @_solbowser , Silvita Diaz Brown @silvitadiazbrown , Darling “Shear” Squire @empressdarlingshear , Ayanna Uhuru @sebleona , and Destine (D’Roc) Young @de_roc_moves , and AiR Co-Producers, Anjal Chande, Joyy Norris, and Roell Schmidt! Rishi Productions @rishi_productions is a Chicago based production company founded in the summer of 2020. After many years of working together individually, we decided to combine our expertise and knowledge in our respective fields to create a one-stop shop for all media production. Our goal is not only to continue doing the kind of work we love, but to also help our clients bring their projects to fruition in a professional and reliable manner. #artistinresidence #yearofchicagodance #chicagodance #dcase #noitp #diasporicdance #circledance #dancinginacircle #garba #garbaseason #garbadance #artistsofcolor #bipocartists #experimentaldance #southasiandance

We are excited to share the thoughtful reflections of Felicia Holman @feliciaholman who captured the joy-filled swirl of ideas that came out of Soham Dance Space's Circle Summit, the closing salon for our Artist-in-Residence Program. As a circle wielder herself, Felicia joined Tiff Beatty, Parijat Desai, Amani Girafa, Ayako Kato, Maya Odim, and Diana Quiñones Rivera, for a wide-ranging, fascinating, and philosophical conversation about the power of circles as artistic and communal structures. Enjoy the full synthesis up on the Soham Dance Space website (link in bio). Special thanks to @tiff_beatty @parijatdesai @gingartecapoeira @furyuayajp @maya.odim @diaquiri for their participation and inspiration! Interdisciplinary artist, cultural facilitator, programmer, and writer, Felicia Holman grounds her work in critical thought, intersectionality, community building, and embodied storytelling. Recent projects and awards include: PRJ 2.0 Podcast host, Threewalls RadLow Fellowship, Re:Place residency, L’Louise Foundation Career Growth Fund Award, and co-founder of the BIPOC Emerging Residency Leadership collective. Both as a co-founder of Honey Pot Performance and as an independent artist, Holman has performed in Chicago, nationally, and internationally. Her writing has appeared in Performance Response Journal, The Quarantine Times, See Chicago Dance, among others. Lifelong Chicagoan and Prince “fam,” Holman sums up her dynamic artrepreneurial life in 3 words—‘Creator, Connector, Conduit'. #circle #circledance #circlingup #dancinginacircle #fullcirclemoment #fullcircleaf #artistsofcolor #bipocartists #marginalizedartists #artistinresidence #yearofchicagodance #chicagodance #diasporicdance

We are sooo excited to share the following special illustrations with you! Comic artist and illustrator Shebani Rao @shebanimal attended Soham Dance Space's “Transform | Affirm Kick-Off Convening” on Zoom, a part of Soham’s pilot Artist-in-Residence Programs, and created an artistic response to the affirming insights shared by Anjal Chande, Parijat Desai, Dr. Meiver De la Cruz, Nadia Khayrallah, Meena Murugesan, and Bhumi B. Patel. Enjoy the wit, humor, and provocative imaginations captured by Shebani’s visual interpretations of an inspiring conversation! Special thanks to @prof_meiver @parijatdesai @nadiakhayrallah @meenakshiproductions @bhumithelion @anjalchande @sohamdancespace . The complete collection of visual responses are on the Soham Dance Space website (link in bio).   Shebani Rao (she/her) is a Philly-based comic artist, illustrator, and researcher. Her work has been featured in LitHub, The Margins, Buzzfeed India, Tides, and others. She enjoys interdisciplinary artistic projects of all kinds. She also collaborates with various nonprofits and works for Philadelphia City government by day. You can check out her daily musings on Instagram: @shebanimal . #transform #affirm #affirmingconversations #artistsofcolor #bipocartists #marginalizedartists #artists #artistsoftheglobalmajority #artistinresidence #yearofchicagodance #chicagodance #diasporicdance #illustrations #shebanirao

As an apt closing circle of Soham's culminating AiR programs, Soham held an interdisciplinary Circle Summit this week with Artistic Director Anjal Chande, Soham AiR resident artist Parijat Desai @parijatdesai , and Chicago-based artists Tiff Beatty @tiff_beatty , Amani Girafa @gingartecapoeira , Ayako Kato @furyuayajp , Maya Odim @maya.odim , and Diana Quiñones Rivera @diaquiri . They came together to discuss the power of circles as artistic and communal structures, in their own creative practices and as they’ve observed in the world around. Through the fascinating and philosophical conversation, the possibilities for social change through circular gathering was deeply felt. The format for this final AiR convening was inspired by the Artists' Sessions at Studio 35 (1950) published by Julia Klein of Chicago's Soberscove Press. Felicia Holman @feliciaholman , a circle-wielding artist herself, joined the Summit as its synthesist. Look for her written response on Soham's blog next month! More info and artist bios on our website: /artist-in-residence #circledance #circleup #circlesummit #closingcircle #gatheringinacircle #circles #cypher #round #yearofchicagodance #dcase #artistinresidence

What happens when we move together in a circle? Thank you to everyone who joined us, moved with us, and reflected with us in September! The beauty of resident artist @parijatdesai ’s vision for garba circle dance to activate community was felt profoundly across three city parks. Together with collaborating artists, @sebleona @de_roc_moves @empressdarlingshear @silvitadiazbrown @_solbowser , Parijat Desai and Soham Dance Space produced Dance In The Round and an excerpt of Parijat’s How Do I Become We performance. This was the culmination of our pilot Artist-in-Residence program, and we were thrilled to see what came to life! Gratitude and inspiration fills our hearts! #NightOutintheParks #ChicagoDance #YearofChicagoDance #DCASEgrants #garbaseason #garba #circledance #community #activation #inclusion #healing