'Dots and Feathers' explores identity and culture

“ align=right />Using dance, music and spoken verse, ‘Dots and Feathers’ attempts to bring to life the issues of race and identity in the Asian Indian and Native American communities, creating a bridge between the two cultures. Katha Dance Theater, in collaboration with area artists, presents, “Dots and Feathers,” this weekend at the O’Shaughnessy Auditorium at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul.

“Dots and Feathers” on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and on Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $24 for adults and $15 for students and children, with special rates for groups, MPR members and seniors. Call the O’Shaughnessy Box Office at 651-690-6700 or Ticketmaster at 651-989-5151 for more details. More ticket and performance information can be found by calling Katha Dance Theater at 763-533-0756 or by going online to www.kathadance.org.

The performance came to fruition as a result of a group effort between Rita Mustaphi, dancer and artistic director of Katha Dance Theater, Larrie Yazzie, founder and director of Native Pride Dancers and friend Brian Grandison, who ultimately wrote the script. “Rita and Larry told me their stories and we just started working on it,” says Grandison. “It was two worlds I knew nothing about. I told them, ‘I’m your audience.’”

While the piece begins with a juxtaposition of cultures and each group taking turns on stage, the gentle pitter-patter of Asian Indian tablas and ankle bangles soon blend effortlessly with pounding Native American drum beats and metal accessories. The two sides, once known to each other as merely “dots” or “feathers,” learn about colonialism, ancestry and love, realizing in the end that they are much more similar than they thought.

Mustaphi, whose dancers will perform a condensed version of the show in coming weeks for Minnesota schools through Young Audiences of Minnesota, hopes audiences will find the true essence of the performance. “All humans are alike,” she says, “The separation, if any, was created by God. We have the same color blood. We are all the same.”