little fears

little fears is a dance theater – with puppets and projections – that playfully explores relationships to rest. The dimensions of these relationships are personified through everyday objects such as the TV, a comfy chair, and a fridge. As the objects find their own life and resistance, moments of healing and recognition occur. little fears’ inquiry is founded upon media addiction and is treated with humor, tenderness, and a dreamy score. This project would not be without its past and current collaborators: Tuli Bera, Jacky Kelsey, Abhijeet, Ruby Que, Matt Chapman and PM Tummala.

*This project is complemented and partially supported by The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival’s Chicago Puppet Lab program.

Artist Bio

Ashwaty Chennat’s movement and theatre practice navigates the thematic and artistic relevance of traditional forms in the diaspora. Her bharatnatyam-based forms emerge as distant from but in connection to contemporary discourses in the South Asian subcontinent. Their dancemaking nests inside American practices such as ballet and musical theater, cultures which set the stage for their artistic upbringing. Ashwaty’s work delights in the escapism of theatre (and life itself) while chatting with political realities. Past works explore themes of gender and queerness intertwined with mythology and historical identities and isolation as culturally shaped.