Oklahoma University of Science and Arts Presents Let the Crows Come Dance Performance by Ashwini Ramaswamy | Culture & Leisure
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Ragamala Dance Company’s 30th season continues with Let the Crows Come by choreographic associate Ashwini Ramaswamy, premiering Thursday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. The performance will take place at Te Ata Memorial Auditorium as part of the Davis -Waldorf Performing Arts Series at Oklahoma University of Science and Arts, 1727 W Alabama Avenue, Chickasha.
Ragamala Dance Company is the vision of award-winning mother/daughter artists Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy.
Let the Crows Come uses the metaphor of crows as messengers for the living and guides for the dead. This concept evolved from a simple idea; “When a DJ remixes a song, its essence is retained while its trajectory is altered,” according to dancer/choreographer Ashwini Ramaswamy, founding member of internationally acclaimed Ragamala Dance Company.
In a series of three dance solos, Ramaswamy (Bharatanatyam technique) and fellow Minneapolis-based dancers Alanna Morris (modern/African diasporic technique) and Berit Ahlgren (Gaga technique) deconstruct and “recontextualize” the South Indian classical dance form Bharatanatyam, “recalling a memory that has a common origin but is remembered differently from person to person,” the press release reads.
The dancers’ use of imagery is set to an original score commissioned by Prema Ramamurthy, accented by the vocals of Carnatic singer Roopa Mahadevan and two other Indian classical musicians – percussionist Rohan Krishnamurthy and violinist Arun Ramamurthy.
Following the play’s premiere in 2019, it was listed among the “Best Performances of the Year” by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnpost, and City Pages, with City Pages citing Ashwini’s work as “illuminating the future of Bharatanatyam “.
“Let the Crows Come” uses the metaphor of crows as messengers for the living and guides for the dead. Photo provided.
Maria Baranova
Let the Crows Come was commissioned by Liquid Music Series and made possible by the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts and the MAP Fund (both supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation) , and was developed in part during residencies at the Baryshnikov Arts Center (New York, NY) and the National Center for Choreography at the University of Akron (OH).
Ashwini Ramaswamy has practiced the classical South Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam for over 30 years; as a founding member of Ragamala Dance Company. Led by her mother Ranee and sister Aparna, Ashwini has toured the world. His choreography was chosen by critics from the New York Times and among the “best of the year” from the Washington Post.
Starring Aparna Ramaswamy as the principal dancer, Ragamala has been commissioned and performed extensively in the United States, India and abroad.
Let the Crows Come tickets are $20 and available here.
The mission of the Davis-Waldorf Performing Arts Series at Oklahoma University of Science and the Arts is to regularly present professional performing arts events and facilitate student participation in these performances as part of a liberal arts education. The series also offers affordable entertainment for college families and the community.
To learn more, click here.
