Jump to content

BY ANJAL CHANDE WITH SPECIAL GUEST SHARON UDOH

Live Arts | The Next Cup of Tea

March 08, 20248:00 pm

March 09, 20248:00 pm

March 14, 20248:00 pm

March 15, 20248:00 pm

March 16, 20248:00 pm

This performance takes place at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater, 1650 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614.

Closed Captions provided Friday, March 15. American Sign Language interpretation and Audio Description provided Saturday, March 16.

About the Performance

Copresented with the Steppenwolf LookOut Series

The Next Cup of Tea is a solo dance-theater performance by Anjal Chande that investigates how to make sense of the never-ending impulses that run through our hearts, our everyday moments, and our contradictory experiences. Through improvisational dance and storytelling, Chande reflects on money, her grandfather, the politics of art, and more. Zigzagging between the gnawing inner world and daily physical routine, The Next Cup of Tea traverses through all that is ordinary, appalling, and enchanting.

This performance was originally scheduled as a part of the MCA’s 2023 Chicago Performs series, organized by Tara Aisha Willis, former curator, with Laura Paige Kyber, Assistant Curator.

Special Thanks from the Artist

Gratitude to all the collaborators who have contributed to previous iterations of this work across seven years of process. Shout out to the following individuals who shaped recent versions during the pandemic (2021) and a live showing at Tanztage in Berlin (2019): Gina Hoch-Stall (dramaturg), Jesse Hunter (musician), Karl Olson (musician), Josh Anderson (cinematographer), Emese Csornai (lighting design), David Ofori-Amoah (material design), Jorge Rodolfo De Hoyos Jr. (dramaturg), and Sophia New (mentor).

Access Information

Closed Captioning is provided for the performance on Friday, March 15. American Sign Language interpretation and Audio Description are provided for the performance on Saturday, March 16.

Captioning provided.Audio description available.ASL provided.

Billing

Anjal Chande | Creator/Performer
Sharon Udoh | Musician/Performer
David Ofori-Amoah | Structures designer
Maggie Bridger | Costumer
Amanda Maraist | Prop assistant
Matthew Chapman | Lighting designer

Related Content

Trailer


Anjal Chande with Special Guest Sharon Udoh, The Next Cup of Tea
Copresented by the MCA and Steppenwolf’s LookOut Series
Music: Anjal Chande, Jesse Hunter, Karl Olson
Cinematographer: Josh Anderson

About the Artist

Anjal Chande is a dancer, drummer, and dragon, as well as a producer, space-maker, and founder of Soham Dance Space, which she has led as a home for creative practice, live performance, critical dialogue, and community gatherings since 2007. She was recently featured on Vocalo Radio’s This Is What Chicago Sounds Like. Her work has been presented/supported by the Chicago Dancemakers Forum 2019 Lab Artist Award, Ragdale Foundation, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Illinois Arts Council, Sophiensaele in Berlin, the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Drive East in New York, World Music Festival in Chicago, and numerous stages in India. Through the US Fulbright Program, she performed and studied in Berlin, Germany, researching the dance community and factors that contribute to thriving urban arts ecosystems. Trained in numerous music and dance forms since childhood, Chande draws from a wide creative range in making her art. She teaches performance art and bharatanatyam through radical pedagogies and has a desire to instill a sense of creative possibility and critical reflection within her students. As an aspiring carpenter, she is working toward learning how to build outhouses for the apocalypse.

Funding

This project is supported by The New Works Initiative, which puts the creative process at the heart of the MCA’s relationship with Chicago by supporting the development of new performances and creative projects. Lead support for the New Works Initiative is provided by Elizabeth A. Liebman.