The words of Paripattal rang out in the theater: “Endure forever, O beauteous land!”
The rising of the heavy crimson curtain revealed five women elegantly dressed in traditional Indian attire. In their palms lay piles of sacred rice flour.
As the drum, violin and singing began, four of the women dancers moved rhythmically in a circle, the flour pouring gently between their painted red fingertips. The remaining dancer created a beautiful design in the center of the circle. Bells were tied on the women’s ankles harmonized with resounding live percussions.
As the show progressed, rice flour was spread across the stage by the movement of the women’s feet. These women made Ragamala Dance come to life.
Ragamala (meaning “Garland of Melodies”) Dance is the creation of Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy, a mother and daughter team. They drew their inspiration from India’s traditional wall paintings and rice flour drawings. Women in India often make drawings with rice flour in the threshold of their homes as offerings to the earth.
Ragamala Dance is a collection of seven poems, which together tell a story. The dancers’ movements are symbolic and supplement the verbal storytelling.
“The movements and expressions of the dancers came together to tell their stories,” Chuck Stone scholar Charlotte Matthews said.
While Ragamala Dance drew inspiration from and honored the classics, it attracted a new audience by creating a more modern dance performance.
“We tend to think of world dance as fixed in time and not evolving…[but] in Ragamala Dance, you’ll see a perfect example of honoring classical forms but moving forward,” dance expert Nancy Wozny said.
Ragamala Dance was part of the 2012 American Dance Festival, “one of the nation’s most important institutions” according to The New York Times. The American Dance Festival aims to draw from the classics of dance and add a contemporary twist that will attract new audiences.
The dance was a very unique experience for many attending the show. Shows like Ragamala Dance are scarce in some parts of the country, so it was a new cultural experience for many people.
“Ragamala Dance was a very captivating experience,” Chuck Stone scholar Junior Dolcine said. “It was something that I have never seen before but also something that I will never forget.”
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Tess Allen is a rising senior at Wayne Country Day School in Goldsboro, N.C. Along with being editor of her school literary magazine, Tess is also the founder of a dance camp for underprivileged children to attend.