Harris Theater, Chicago, Illinois
Fri, Mar 21
|Chicago
Created by Aparna, Ranee, and Ashwini Ramaswamy, Children of Dharma takes inspiration from Keerthik Sashidharan’s novel The Dharma Forest, a re-envisioning of the epic text, The Mahabharata. With scenic design by French artist Willy Cessa, poetic movement and lush visual imagery reveal the rippling
Time & Location
Mar 21, 2025, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Chicago, 205 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601, USA
About the event
Created by company founder and Co-Artistic Director Ranee Ramaswamy with her daughters, Executive Artistic Director Aparna Ramaswamy and Choreographic Associate Ashwini Ramaswamy, Children of Dharma reveals the rippling effects of dharma, or “right action,” wordlessly through the body. The work provokes a visceral response to crises over the ages, from environmental devastation and oppression to unjust wars. Why does war unleash the animal in man? What have we done to our relationship with the natural world? In response to these questions, the power of ancient cultures is vitally relevant — to connect us to our ancestors, to harmonize, to heal, and to reaffirm the existence of beauty and truth.
Children of Dharma begins with a solitary dancer emerging from the aftermath of an inevitable conflict, a symbolic representation of the looming shadow of war. The choreography, influenced by movement traditions from India and the Hindu diaspora (South Indian Bharatanatyam and Khmer…