Anjal Chande, The Next Cup of Tea

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 heads, our everyday moments, and our contradictory experiences. Through improvisational dance and storytelling, Chande reflects on money and being brown in a stratified America, routine interactions with her grandfather, the paradox of art, and more. Chande’s improvisational movement follows her non-conformist impulses, whether that be the bharatanatyam technique in which she is trained, pedestrian habits, mood or personality, or other subconscious influences. The Next Cup of Tea explores the intersection between mundane materiality and the mind’s subjective world. Through interaction with abstract props, Chande contrasts the ordinariness of daily physical routine with the compelling, gnawing quality of inner feelings eager to be seen, heard, and understood. Juxtaposing the personal, political, and philosophical dimensions of the individual experience, The Next Cup of Tea serves as an introspective invitation to look at our kaleidoscopic interior, and to accept the task of deciphering whatever it is we feel today.

Chicago Performs is organized by Tara Aisha Willis, former MCA Curator, with Laura Paige Kyber, Curatorial Associate.