Our Shawngrām Institute for Performance & Social Justice is our gathering place, where we practice (train) together, rehearse, lead workshops and community events, and teach weekly classes and our Summer Intensive. 

The Institute shares a building with a Black-owned day care and a Somali restaurant. Gordon Parks ALC High School and the charter High School for Recording Arts are across the street. We’re a block from the Lexington Avenue light rail stop. Once a used car salesroom, the building is now refurbished with floor to ceiling windows, a sprung floor dance studio, an access ramp, and an office /meeting space. Works of visual art, donated by and created by community members, surround us as we dance.

Current Classes

Find rhythm, groundedness, and flow with dance classes
at Ananya Dance Theatre's Shawngram Institute for Performance & Social Justice.

In-Person & Online Classes

All classes are currently in session!

All in-person classes are held at the Shawngrām Institute for Performance & Social Justice located at 1197 University Ave W, ST Paul, MN 55104. Students attending in-person classes must wear face masks during class. No exceptions.

*All virtual and hybrid classes have new corresponding zoom links.

Contact Kealoha at kealoha.ferreira@ananyadancetheatre.org for zoom class links, or with questions about accessibility.

Subscribe to our Shawngrām Classes google calendar to know exactly when we are taking breaks and restarting classes.

Water Dances

Wednesdays 9:45-11:00 am CT (in-person only*)

A weekly dedication to the vitality and life force of Water. In class, we will offer breath, dance, meditation, story, song, and reflection. Each class will take shape a little differently, staying responsive to the ongoing movements protecting the sacredness and longevity of water worldwide. Water Dances will begin with grounding movement, flow into dedicated time for personal practice/research/reflection, and close with collective sharing. All who are committed to deepening their relationship with water are welcome to participate.

Yorchhā Elements | Yorchhā Integrations

Yorchhā Elements, Fridays 5:00-6:00 pm CT (virtual only*)

Yorchhā Integrations, Saturdays 9:00 am-10:00 am CT (in-person only*)

Yorchhā Elements | Yorchhā Integrations is a new approach to the previous Intro and Advanced class structure. Now, these classes are in conversation with each other, breaking down Yorchhā elementals like footwork or torso articulation in the Friday “Elements” class and then adding continued complexity in the following Saturday’s “Integrations” class.

*Yorchhā is Ananya Dance Theatre’s trade-marked contemporary technique that intersects principles of vinyasa yoga, classical Indian dance form Odishi (from the eastern Indian state of Odisha), and martial art form Chhau (also from Odisha). These traditional aesthetics are refracted and reimagined through transnational-feminist practices of solidarity and resistance to create a contemporary vocabulary of movement that dances forward our dreams for a just world.

Payment Information

Classes are operated on a pay-what-you-can basis. 

We suggest that participants pay $15.00 per class, but please donʻt let financial limitations stop you from participating! Another way to contribute is by sharing information about the classes on your social media or inviting people in your orbit to take classes with you!

Pay for classes here!

For liability purposes, please read through our participation waiver. Do not hesitate to ask questions or ask for variations on our movement in class. Our priority is to dance together joyfully, safely, and to the fullest of everybody’s abilities that day.

Liability Disclaimer:
By participating in these activities, you agree that Ananya Dance Theatre is not responsible for, and you hereby waive all claims for loss, injury, or illness to person or property relating to your participation in activities sponsored by Ananya Dance Theatre.

Yoga: Aligning With Land

Sundays 9:00-10:00 am CT  (hybrid participation*)

From Tadasana (mountain pose), the first asana in Surya Namaskar sequence, we connect our feet to the ground and attune our internal landscape to find equity on the ground under our feet. Our practices of relationality and reciprocity are also building blocks for sustainable and regenerative body practices. This Vinyasa class breaks down the fundamentals of structural and energetic alignment in Yoga while moving towards right-relationship with place and community. All are welcome to participate. Variations and modifications will be provided for multiple access points in each class. Mats and blocks are encouraged with limited supplies available at the Institute.