Bhoomi

As every season is marked by climate change-related events — hurricanes, floods, wildfires, typhoons — there’s no better time to contemplate humanity’s relationship to the environment. Connection and balance play a central role in Bhoomi, which means “earth” in Sanskrit. Framed by the portrayal of the five natural elements - space, air, fire, water, and earth - the work depicts the evolution of humanity’s connection to these fundamental aspects of the earth’s existence. It asks why and how have we gotten to this point and what might we do to slow this course we have laid for ourselves?

The work unfolds in front of projected images of paintings by award-winning artist Shanthi Chandrasekhar and lush designs from Dylan Uremovich. India-based music composer Praveen Rao provides a sweeping and innovative original score.

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Bhoomi was commissioned in 2018 by the John F. Kennedy Center’s Local Dance Commissioning Project and premiered on the Millennium Stage.

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This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

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