DANCE

Ananda Bena-Weber has performed choreographic works by such celebrated choreographers as Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins, Fred Astaire, Hermes Pan, John Cranko, Alonzo King, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Jimmy Slyde, Marius Petipa, Sam Weber, Rosine Bena, Gregory Hines and Lynn Dally. She has performed as a dancer with such companies as: The Jazz Tap Ensemble, The Sierra Nevada Ballet, The Reno Ballet, Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Perspectives Dance Theater (and others), and has danced as an independent artist throughout the US and Europe.

Ananda is trained in classical ballet (pointe, pas de deux), tap, jazz, mime, character, modern, flamenco, Russian folk dancing, salsa, swing, lindy, fox trot, and Argentine tango.

“The first sound I remember hearing was music. The first forms I remember seeing were bodies in motion –liquid, rhythmical, sublime. I can think of no language in the world that can convey with greater clarity and simplicity the spectrum of human emotional life than dance to music. We dance our joy, our sorrow, our passion and our pain, speaking experiences in a language universal and timeless. It is a way to break through cultural or prejudicial barriers reminding us that we are all fundamentally the same. For centuries we have fallen in love, worshiped nature, scaled heights of ecstasy, and encountered the divine while dancing to music. It is a deep listening and celebration of the body. And I personally believe that it is completely possible for us to close our mouths, open our ears, and let our bodies take us on a journey to harmony on earth. We can dance our way to a lasting peace! It’s hard to dance and hate at the same time. Try it and see!”