Shruti Indian Performance Series Returns To IPFW
By JOHN KAUFELD
Chief Communications Officer, IPFW
FORT WAYNE — Ragamala Dance Company, led by artistic directors Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy, will perform Song of the Jasmine at Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, in the IPFW Auer Performance Hall as part of the IPFW/Shruti Indian Performance Series.
Don’t miss “Song of the Jasmine,” the performance The New York Times called “soulful, imaginative, and rhythmically contagious…startlingly seamless and marvelously danceable.” In India, the jasmine flower traverses the world of man and the world of the gods.
This inspired new work freely moves between past and present, composition and improvisation, music and dance, delving into the concept of longing through the lens of recollection, appeal and total surrender. Guided by the rich poems of Tamil Bhakti poet Andal, Song of the Jasmine embodies the spiritual and the sensual that are the lifeblood of the Indian psyche.
Rudresh Mahanthappa heads a musical ensemble that features Rez Abbasi (guitar), Raman Kalyan (South Indian flute), Rajna Swaminathan (mridangam) and Anjna Swaminathan (violin) for a live soundscape of jazz and Carnatic music for Ragamala’s five dancers, featuring soloist Aparna Ramaswamy.
The IPFW College of Visual and Performing Arts and Shruti, the Indian Cultural Society of Fort Wayne, continue to offer Indian cultural experiences for audiences in northeast Indiana and are pleased to present yet another exciting offering in an ongoing collaboration to introduce patrons to some of the most acclaimed international Indian performers in music, dance, and theatre.
Admission is free for all students with ID, and $10 for all others. Tickets may be purchased online at ipfw.edu/tickets. Purchase tickets by phone at (260) 481-6555 or in person at the IPFW ticket office located in the Gates Athletic Center, Room 126, open 12:30–6:30 p.m. Monday–Friday.