Opening Nights Ragamala Dance Performs “Song of the Jasmine” on December 3rd and 4th
Photo courtesy of Opening Nights
Ragamala Dance
Song of the Jasmine
December 3-4, 8:00 p.m.
Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre
Ragamala Dance, part of the MANCC McKnight Partnership Artists project, will be performing Song of the Jasmine on December 3 and 4 at the Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre as part of Opening Nights. Acclaimed as one of the Indian Diaspora’s leading dance ensembles, Ragamala Dance carries the South Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam seamlessly into the 21st century. Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy, mother and daughter, are protégés of the legendary dancer and choreographer Alarmel Valli, known as one of India’s greatest living masters. The New York Times called this production “a soulful, imaginative and rhythmically contagious collaboration with the superb jazz composer and alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa.”
Ragamala will return to Florida State University in March 2015 to develop their latest work, Written in Water, which is a multimedia production that employs elements of chance and improvisation. As a child in India, Ranee played the board game Paramapadam—“game of destiny”—which takes players on a symbolic journey through life, highlighting concepts of action and consequence, philosophy and psychology, will and fate and chance and destiny. Seeing in this ancient Indian game a way to connect past generations with her own and Aparna’s immigrant journey, she was inspired to use it as a template for Written in Water.
While at MANCC this coming spring, Ragamala will explore movement creation and work with musicians to develop a musical approach to the work. They hope to meet with Florida State University scholars from Religion, History and English to discuss the themes in the work. Learn more about their upcoming residency at MANCC and find more information on their Opening Nights performance.
Purchase tickets online, by phone 850.644.6500 or in person at the Fine Arts Ticket Office.