Creative Conduit: Day of Engagement with Ananya Chatterjea

Dance, Music, and Clay are among the most ancient of art forms known to humankind. Cave paintings and ancient artifacts, dating back more than 10,000 years ago suggest this. We all know music as a social connector through various shared interests in music, favorite artists, going to concerts, and playing music with others. Clay has connected people for centuries through the making of vessels to store, serve, and share food and libation, but also through social engagement by way of shared facilities, tools, techniques, and knowledge. Dance is rich in tradition, ritual, and cultural customs. Dance has a way of drawing us in, through physical movement and emotive connection. Dance can entrance both participant and viewer. Dance evokes spirit through action… It is visual and aesthetic.
Creative Conduit: Clay, Sound, Movement was an event held at Central Michigan University, February 14, 2024, that invited dancer and professor from the University of Minnesota, Ananya Chatterjea, to campus to collaborate on an improvisational performance with students and faculty, Marco Schirripa from Music and Israel “Izzy” Davis from Art and Design, centered around shared human spirit. Along the way Ananya engaged in other areas across the College of Arts and Media (CAM) through workshops, projects, discussions, and collaborations in Dance, Photo, and BFA Studio Art. She also collaborated on a project with, Lauren Fulk, a student in Fashion Design, who designed Ananya’s wardrobe for the performance. Cameron Ulschafer, of CMU’s Moore Media Records, recorded the music and sounds of the live event.
As part of the event, Izzy and Melissa Navarre (BFA Studio Art ’24 and Regina Brown Undergraduate Fellowship recipient) collaborated to build two large pottery drums inspired by Indian Ghatam (tradition pottery drums originating from South India). Students from three classes were then invited to decorate the vessels based upon the event theme: shared human spirit. These pottery drums were then used in a collaborative improvisational performance with percussion ensemble students and percussion faculty, Marco Schirripa. After the performance Ananya welcomed the audience and participants to share observations, ask questions, and discuss the performance. Ananya also talked about Ananya Dance Theater, a 20-year-old dance company that she founded, and the overarching mission to “create original contemporary dance theater at the intersection of artistic
excellence and social justice.”
Creative Conduit:
Clay, Sound, Movement
a day of engagement and collaborative performance
Central Michigan University
College of Arts and Media
Ananya Chatterjea Visiting Artist / Dancer
Marco Schirripa Collaborator / Professor of Percussion
Israel Davis Collaborator / Professor of Ceramics
Melissa Navarre Collaborator / Percussionist
Lauren Fulk Fashion Designer / Wardrobe
Cameron Ulschafer Sound Production
Jennifer Holscher Poetry
CMU Percussion Ensemble Music / Sound
Thanks to all students and faculty involved in the performance and to those who participated in the day of cross-disciplinary exploration, discussion, and collaboration.
Thank You -
Stephen L. Barstow Workshop and Lecture Series
College of Arts and Media DEI Committee
Faculty, Staff, and Students
A Special Thank You - Ananya for sharing your time, wisdom, and experience with us!