Pramila Vasudevan

Pramila Vasudevan

An artist in cutting edge performance and a producer of interactive art, Pramila continues to integrate her diasporic experiences into her artwork - pushing viewers' beyond the confines of their comfort zone in the theater.

ANICCHA ARTS AND INTERACTIVE ENVIRONMENTSPramila loves to work in public spaces to train herself in interactivity through Aniccha Arts (http://www.aniccha.org). She spends time in the farmer's market, malls, as a mover and observer of people interactions and reactions. Pramila is constantly thinking about social justice and group dynamics within performance.

*Most recently - Nov 9-18 2007, she created an evening length Interactive performance called Dousing the Mirage, presented by Aniccha Arts and Center for Independent Artists. The performance brought three often conflicting perspectives on water use into play: Economics, Human Equity and Environment. Using interactive episodes, the collaboration dares to envision a living future through negotiation amongst and between local communities.

Aniccha Arts is an interactive multimedia dance performance company. Through awareness of how audiences interact with the work, Aniccha Arts seeks to mobilize our community to think and question the framework of the society that we live within.

Collaborators for this project included Vatsan Varadarajan, Dipankar Mukherjee, Shiney Varghese, Mankwe Ndosi, Subha Giri, Kenna Sarge, Chitra Vairavan, Annelize Machado, Mark Fox, Mike Westerlund, Andrea Heilman, and Vijay Ramanathan.

Other performances include: Mann Manam - Call of Shifting Ground at the Center of Independent Artists October, 2006. The project involved a contemporary narrative based on the story of Kannagi. Her primary collaborators included Nirmala Rajasekar (http://www.nirmalarajasekar.com), Vijay Ramanathan, Subalakshmi Giridaragopalan, and Vatsan Varadarajan.

She has produced/directed INTERACTIVE performances through the University of Minnesota and Fringe Festival since 2002, including Fear Of Freedom II Caliban Co Theatre August, 2004, Gestalt of Seity Coffman Union Theatre, October 2004, Fragile Lines, August 2005.

LOVE FOR ART AND DANCE
*During her college years, Pramila began to interact with the Minneapolis art scene, dancing with Ragamala Music and Dance Theater (http://www.ragamala.net) and performed in Asoka at the O' Shaughnessy Theater, 1996, and then as a principal dancer in Valli Kalyanam, Southern Theater 1996, Carlton College, spring of 1997.

*Struck with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Pramila took a hiatus from external activities to overcome the disease. With the love of friends and family and a desire to live life fully, Pramila recovered and entered the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. There she learned to be an interactive thinker as well as a graphic designer. She tries to survive as a graphic artist to support her other artistic endeavors.

*After her recovery from Hodgkin's disease, Pramila became a principal dancer for Ananya Dance Theatre (www.ananyadancetheatre.org). She began to learn Dr.Ananya Chatterjea's form that is based on Odissi, Yoga, Chau, and Kalari. She danced in A Wife's Letter, Barbara Barker Center, September 2001, Bandh - a meditation on Dream, Southern Theater, June 2005, Duurbaar - Unstoppable, Southern Theater (http://www.southerntheater.org), September 2006, and Pipaashaa - extreme thirst September 2007, Southern Theater.

*She has performed all over the Twin Cities, and has toured with Ananya Dance Theatre since 2001 and has performed in the Chicago Dance Festival, Chicago 2001; International Blind Society, New York City 2001, Ramapo College, New Jersey 2005, Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia 2005, New World Theater 2007, Temple University, Philadelphia 2007.
*She has toured internationally to Calcutta, India for the international and contemporary Intersections dance festival of 2006. She has also travelled to Jakarta with Ananya for the international Indonesian Dance Festival.
*She was featured with Ananya Dance Theatre on the cover of the India Today as part of the Ananya Dance Theatre in March 2003.