Low DownIn a tripartite programme, the Ragamala Dance Company presents firstly a pure solo dance piece in traditional style, performed by Aparna Ramaswamy to a recorded setting of an ancient hymn extolling the union of male and female within the essence of divinity, and ultimately, the manifestation of that union in a human being. Next, Ranee Ramaswamy performs Prayer, a solo number to a recorded soundtrack which combines the traditional visual language of Bharatanatyam classical dance in a more contemporary fusion of costume, text and music. In this piece, Ranee presents an interpretation of a poem by American poet Jim Moore about the sacred river Ganges as a symbol of the spirit of love and devotion. The musical backing track (Prière by Mahmoud Tabrizi-Zadeh) is hauntingly beautiful and Ranee’s costume, designed by Mary Hansmeyer, a perfect creation of studied simplicity the design of which skilfully accentuates and expresses Ranee’s movements. Finally, the entire ensemble of the Ragamala Dance Company take the stage with the Japanese Wadaiko Drumming Ensemble TOKARA to present a combined interpretation of classical Bharatanatyam dance to live drumming to express the vital rhythmic force which lies at the heartbeat of life, creation, dance, music and the manifestation of the creative spark in the world. ReviewImagine what it would be like if you were given the chance to see a performing arts legend like Farinelli, Isadora Duncan, Maria Callas, Nijinsky or Nureyev perform live. If you passed over this chance, you’d almost certainly live to regret it. The Ragamala Dance Company and the Wadaiko Ensemble TOKARA are giving you this same chance. The performers are masters of their art. Their control is exemplary. They exude energy from every molecule of their body – it surges from every fingertip, eyelash and strand of hair and travels through every fold in their costume, every sparkle of a gemstone, every chan-chan of a bell, every sinew, pore and element which makes up their drums, every ridge and valley in the grain of wood in the drummers’ sticks.
The performance of Prayer was one of the most hauntingly beautiful theatrical works I have ever seen. Every element of the composite worked together to bring about a transformative experience. Ranee’s movements are reminiscent of a sign-language interpreter bringing to life exquisitely-chosen words. The traditional forms of Bharatanatyam dance fuse dance and storytelling, evocation and recreation, for while the words tell of the river Ganges, they also express the flow of longing for union which brings people to it, and as the story flows, so the expression of that union flows out via Ranee’s dance, and in her living of it, for this is indeed a living performance, which has the power to be transformative.
It is not surprising to find unusual human stories fuelling the performances – Aparna and Ranee Ramaswamy are a mother and daughter team, both artistic directors of the ensemble. Although based in the States, they return to India every year (as they have done for the last 25 years) to refresh and advance their dance skills with Alarmel Valli, a leading exponent and choreographer in the form. American Art Lee, TOKARA’s Artistic Director, Composer and Drummer is the first ever non-Japanese master of the form to have been given an artist’s visa from the Japanese government to teach Taiko drumming and lead the life of a professional Taiko artist in Japan. They have a history of interesting and unusual collaborations, and a keen eye for quality, for personal dedication, for a spiritual quality which they feel they can work with.
The US-based Ragamala Dance Company has a history of touring mainly the US and Japan. This is their first trip to the UK and they are a must see. While I, for one, hope they will tour the UK, and would probably book in to see every performance they do within reach, who knows when they will make it over again. This may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Catch them while you can. If you don’t, you’ll probably either live to regret it or probably never know what you’ve missed. I don’t know which is worse.
Reviewed by Leon Conrad 20 August 2008 Website : |
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