Ananya Dance Theatre (ADT) is an ensemble company of TRAnsnational feminist professional dance artists who create and perform social justice choreography.

What We Do

OUR HOME

The Shawngrām Institute for Performance & Social Justice

Our company’s home since 2018, the Shawngrām Institute is located in St. Paul, Minnesota on University Avenue, at the confluence of the vibrant neighborhoods of Frogtown, Little Africa, Hamline-Midway, and Historic Rondo.

Our performance home (since 2013) has been the O’Shaughnessy at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota: initially, as part of their Women of Substance series (now sunsetted); now as a member of the O’Shaughnessy Dance Cohort.

ADT has performed at the Cowles Center for Dance, the Southern Theater, and has offered many excerpted performances and residencies in venues and schools around the Twin Cities and in greater Minnesota. In 2015, ADT was commissioned to create an original, full-length work for the opening of the Ordway Center’s Concert Hall.

Performance photo of Ananya Chatterjea. She stands on one leg with knee bent, leaning forward, arms outstretched with clawlike hands. Her other leg extends behind her, knee bent at sharp angle. Her mouth and eyes are open wide.

ON TOUR

On tour, ADT has performed, offered engagements, and participated in developmental residencies across all regions of the U.S. and internationally, connecting with communities by dancing stories of struggles, triumphs, and transformations.

awards & recognition

In 2021, ADT was named a Regional Cultural Treasure through a joint initiative of the McKnight, Ford, Bush, and Jerome Foundations.

We celebrate our 20th season in 2025.

Three dancers wearing blue and white.  In foreground, one dancer stands tall, leaning back and looking up with arms bent over head. In background, two dancers interlock arms.