Ragamala Music & Dance Theater to Perform in Crookston and at UMC

Ragamala Music and Dance Theater, a troupe combining classical dance, music, poetry, and visual arts of India, will perform in Crookston during the week of January 20-24. The troupe is performing as part of the Arts Across Minnesota grant program. Ragamala plans to work with humanities, social studies, and international studies classes at Crookston High School and at the University of Minnesota, Crookston.

The Arts Across Minnesota program will support a series of arts celebrations in Minnesota towns and cities that recognize community, honor creativity, and strengthen identity. Arts Across Minnesota was created as part of a new statewide Arts Initiative, a measure providing $12 million more for the arts over the next two years. The measure was created to stabilize and encourage growth within Minnesota's arts community.

The grant will sponsor an additional dance troupe, Zenon Dance Company. Zenon will perform modern and jazz dance on Friday, Feb. 27, 1998, at the Crookston High School Auditorium.

The Making of "Return of the Rain Seed"

Ranee Ramaswamy
Artistic Director

It is not my intention to portray boys as being weak. In Mala's mind a boy's world was fantastic, adventurous and exciting, and hers was not. As a boy, she finds out that they too have all the fears and insecurities that exist in all of us.

Inspired by a children's book I found in India, "MALA" by Gita Wolf Sampath, adapted from a folk tale, I decided to make a dance/theater piece for Ragamala. This is my first attempt to infuse dialogue in a dance piece. A number of people came forward to help with their expertise to make the creation of this piece a wonderful experience.

I first requested Veena Deo, English professor at Hamline University to create a script. The script was then given to my friends Rick Shiomi, Martha Johnson and Zaraawar Ministry of Theater Mu. After getting a positive response from them, I first worked on getting appropriate music for setting and choreographing dances to the story.

Steve Gorn, a noted Indian flutist from New York and Ty Burhoe, tabla drummer from Boulder, Colorado accepted to play for the show. Nirmala Rajasekar, a brilliant South Indian vocalist from Minneapolis consented to sing. Her flair for composition and experimenting amazed me. The cast was recruited and rehearsals began. As the piece developed, I asked Rick Shiomi if he would play the Taiko drums for the demon's entrance and he agreed. Both Martha and Rick gave their advice as theater people as the work took shape. What I did not see as a choreographer, they saw as directors.

I learned a lot through this process. Zaraawar Mistry agreed to give voice to the' demon and Nathan Christopher, a theater major at the U of M took the role of Amal.

This production is a true example of collaboration. Marc Norberg, a fabulous photographer in the Twin Cities came up with the idea for the photograph. He bought and broke a few mirrors to create our spectacular photo for the publicity. It took him almost eight hours to get the perfect picture! Ashu and Anju Kataria, owners of Khazana, provided the authentic tribal costumes.

Our new manager, Santwana DasGupta has been a delight, creating fabulous energy among all those involved in the project and taking on the responsibility for fundraising, publicity and the newsletter.

She brought Gary Harmsen, who has tirelessly volunteered his time in designing and creating both the newsletter and the program notes. Thank you also to Mary Beth Sundstad for volunteering to meticulously edit pages of text.

The Ragamala dancers have shown incredible commitment and love and sharing in making this project happen. There has been so much giving from everybody, my heart felt thanks to each and every body who has contributed to the making of The Return of the Rain Seed.

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The Story

A modern folk tale from India, Return of the Rain Seed is the story of a young girl, Mala, who yearns to be as brave and adventurous as her brother. When an evil demon steals the rain seed, drought strikes Mala's homeland and sparks her ardent desire to become a boy in order to defeat the demon, retrieve the rain seed and save her village. This production is the story of Mala, how she handles her newfound role, and the truths she discovers from her adventures.

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Program

Matha, Pitha, Guru, Deivam.
Matha - mother, pitha - father, guru - teacher, deviam - god.
Guru means teacher, the one who removes darkness.
Hindus believe that mother is the first step, father the second and teacher the final step towards enlightenment. With that belief we begin our programme with:
Gurusthuthi
Ragam(melody) - Nattai; Talam(rhythm) - Sankirna nadai thriputa talam

The Return of the Rain Seed

Act I
Three gypsies tell the story about a girl called Mala, who lived with her brother Mani and her mother in a village. There was drought in the village because a demon had stolen the Rain Seed. Mala, wants to fight the demon, but, as she is a girl, no one takes her wish seriously. Mala appeals to her godmothers for help.

Intermission

Act II

Mala is granted her wish to become a boy. She goes to the demon's land to fight the demon and to get the rain seed back. There she learns some valuable lessons in her new found role as a boy.

Thillana

Ragam - Danashri; Music - Swathitirunal

The play ends with an exciting rhythmic finale.

Description of The Dance

Bharatanatyam is the subtle and sophisticated dance form of Tamilnadu, India. Visually, it is dynamic, earthy and a precise form of dance. In a dance drama, rhythm and gesture, the two elements of dance, convey the beauty of the narrative. Words are secondary to rhythm in depicting the events of a story, and the entire body communicates through gestures and movements.

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Bharatanatvam and its use in this production

Abhinaya - there are four types of Abhinaya used in this dance form.

Angkikam - expressing through the use of the body, Vachikam - expressing through the use of words, Aharyam expressing through costume and jewelry, Satvikam - expressing through emotions.

This performance uses the abhinaya aspect of Bharatanatyam, in which the dancers communicate through the silent language of gestures, expressions and emotions. The narrators provide the words that are very essential to abhinaya. Their characters are expressed through costumes.

Rhythmic movements or Nritta is used appropriately to elevate excitement and to establish moods. The music provides strong support to create these necessary moods to support the characters.

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Choreography

The choreography for the opening piece Gurusthuthi and the final piece Thillana is complex. In the first piece all dancers are not moving in unison, as in traditional Bharatanatyam, and the rhythm is set to nine beats in three sets of three beats - musically complex and interesting to watch.

In the final piece, unlike traditional choreography where there is symmetry of movements, there is a lot of asymmetry, it goes against the normal thinking process of a Bharatanatyam dancer and therefore challenges the minds of the dancers.

The idea of a dancer and an actor communicating with dialogue and gestures, and that of a dancer speaking lines to choreographed dance movements are a new concept tried for the first time by Ragamala. The choreography for the demon requires extraordinary stamina and technique to execute. The demon and Amal confront through dance rhythms and acting, which is also a "first time" for Ragamala.

Rick Shiomi composed the rhythms for the demon and I choreographed the movements. I set the rhythms for Malas dance and Rick Shiomi translated them into the Taiko drumming language.

Ranee Ramaswamy

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The Music in The Return of the Rain Seed

The word "harmony" evokes warm, balmy feelings of togetherness, bliss and joy. Do watch for the harmony in the folksy, kurinji-chenjutti tunes of South Indian classical music composed for the gypsy's dance.

Another "first-time" ever in composing has been done in anointing the jatis (rhythmic dance bols) with music. Almost all the jatis in the first section of the program have music with them.

I chose the ragas(melodic tunes) for the jatis to suit the mood and the dancer - the King enters in regal Thdi, godmothers dance to the colorful Mohanam, while the Minister and the King discuss the drought in Raga Vasanta. Raga Madhyamava~ painted the rain and was a real boon as the music and dance just fell into place with the melody.

Of the story of Mala, this displays a montage of Indian Classical Music, integrating the two great systems - Hindustani (North Indian), represented by flutist Steve Gorn and Tabla player Ty Burhoe, and Carna tic Music (South Indian), represented by the vocalist.

From chenjutti to Madhya Mavati, it has been a journey of harmony, melody and the magic of music.

                                                                                         -Nirmala Rajasekar

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Posted: 01-12-98

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