From Julinda D. Lewis of RVArt Review
“Another work that resonated was an excerpt from a dance called Penumbra, choreographed by Ankita Sharma and performed by Sharma and Darryl Filmore. Penumbra is dark, very dark…psychologically dark, and that’s an even more terrifying kind of dark.
This section of the artist’s evening-length work is called “Aftercare,” and the work explores the question, “What does it feel like to say the dark things that remain inside out loud?” Based on the dancers’ shared experiences with trauma, the two begin on opposite sides of a small table, somehow, remarkably, performing similar movements with strikingly different dynamics. The force and counterforce reminds me of the life and death encounters being negotiated by the old men convened around Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table but her it takes only two, not a dozen, to create this howling, apocalyptic effect!
Notably, this was the only group that did not take a bow – to do so would have broken the spell and diminished the power of this work.”
From Joy-Marie Thompson on Thinking Dance
“This is no ordinary contemporary dance. This is the work of a choreographer finding their voice through the use of their heritage to bring awareness to current issues that people, especially in the West may not know about.
Sharma’s “aavaaz” is an excerpt of an evening-long work titled “munh” which translates to “mouth.” While conservatism and radical violence toward marginalized folks is rising in our country, it is rising in other parts of the world as well. When Sharma spoke to me about their intention creating this particular work, they said, “...munh entangles Hindu goddess Kali’s myths with present-day authoritarianism, religious violence, and the West - specifically reflecting on violence against dark-skinned and Muslim people in South Asia and how that reflects worldwide.”
While watching, I was very pleased to be embraced by the beautiful imagery of Hinduism portrayed by South Asian people, but a sense of grief bloomed in my chest regarding how contemporary choreography by Asian people is rarely represented. This lack of representation is something that Sharma is aware of. There is a certain kind of beauty that manifests when a brown skinned artist creates work about their people, not for the sake of wanting to garner Western/white accolades, but rather to make a clear, stomping statement that reads “I am here and I am going to show you who my people are and what they are going through.” Ankita made no reservations when it came to that.”