INDIANAPOLIS: Aparna Satheesan, the winner of the National Natya Shiromani Award is premiering her newest project “Amma- Journey of a new mother”, portraying the emotional postpartum journey of motherhood, in January 2022.
This is a 45 minutes Bharatanatyam Dance production "Amma''- Journey of a new mother, portraying the emotional journey of postpartum in a new mother. The aim of the project is to spread awareness about Women's Mental Health and Wellness during postpartum and how family and society can support them, says Aparna Satheesan in a communication received today.
This dance showcases a culmination of this new mother navigating through postpartum as she recognizes her changes and evolves into a newer version of herself, with the strong support of her family.
The promo video of the project was released on Youtube December 3 and the full dance production is set to premiere in Atlanta USA on January 22 2022 under the banner of Soorya Performing Arts, USA organization, discloses Aparna.
Aparna writes "Having a baby is one of the happiest times in life, but it can also be one of the saddest. For most new mothers, the first several days after having a baby can be an emotional roller coaster ride- thrilling moments of happiness and joy can abruptly be interrupted by plunging into moments of depressive symptoms including weeping, anxiety, anger, and sadness. These ‘baby blues’ usually peak in the first two to five days after giving birth. In most women, such feelings go away as quickly as they come. For some women, depressive symptoms can continue well past those first two weeks or develop over the next several months after having a baby. "
The promotional video of the project was published on December 3 on virtual platforms which has received several appreciations from eminent dance critics.
Aparna is an internationally acclaimed dancer who has proven her choreographic and performance skills across the globe, and is well known for presenting unique and creative dance items in Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi. “Natyashastra”, the detailed treatise on Indian classical dance elaborates on the characteristics of a dancer which includes agility, beauty, grace, humility, intelligence, dedication and hard work.
Aparna is a perfect embodiment of an ideal dancer. Aparna, a North American Indian Raga fellow in Kuchipudi has presented several innovative choreographies like Digital Diwali, iPad Mudra which showcases how technology influences today’s generation using traditional dance forms.
She says that “art is very powerful that an artist has to adapt to the audience and use art as a means to communicate to the world and to make a change that we want to see in the world, and not always only limit ourselves to the mythology. The scope is vast and one should explore new ideas which can help them connect to the audience, without compromising on the authenticity of the dance form”.
Through “Amma: Journey of a new mother”, Aparna is trying to spread awareness on postpartum related issues in women, including postpartum depression which is very common in new mothers.
The talented dancer will premiere “Amma, Journey of a new mother” on stage in January 2022.