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Ragamala Music and Dance Theater: Sethu
Thursday, October 5, 2006
6:00 - 10:30 pm approx.
Wharton Center in Lansing, MI (Cobb Great Hall)
Admission Fee:
$5.00 (for Undergraduate students and Group Leaders*)
$10.00 (for Graduate Students and Faculty and Staff)
*Group leaders must be U-M faculty, staff, or GSIs

HOW DO I BOOK A GROUP OF 10 OR MORE?

Deadline to register for this event is: Monday, Oct. 2.

World Music & Dance at Wharton Center Presents
Ragamala Music and Dance Theater is dedicated to preserving the South Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam while using it as a springboard for innovative choreography. Old forms are used in new ways to honor the past, celebrate the present, and inspire the future. Ragamala's vibrant classical work and pioneering cross-cultural collaborations demonstrate to diverse audiences the versatility, depth, and contemporary vitality of Bharatanatyam. Sethu (Bridge) is a pioneering global collaborative work that combines South Indian Bharatanatyam dance and Kecak, the powerful vocal tradition of Bali, to create a stunning presentation of the Indian epic Ramayana. Generously sponsored by Performing Arts Fund, a program of Arts Midwest funded by the National Endowment for the Arts with additional contributions from General Mills Foundation, Land O'Lakes Foundation, and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.

UM Students and Faculty Involvement in this performance:
The University of Michigan Gamelan (Indonesian musical ensemble) will perform with a classical South Asian dance company, Ragamala of Minneapolis, in a fusion extravaganza of the Indian epic, the Ramayana at the Wharton Center in East Lansing on Oct 5. The performance combines Indian classical dance and music, Balinese dance and music and Javanese gamelan music. Five Balinese musicians, experts in the Balinese music, will arrive in Ann Arbor three days before the performance to train UM students and faculty members as musicians. Musicians who will perform on the Javanese gamelan include visiting artist in residence Sigit Adji Sabdo bin Soegito (a musician and puppeteer from Central Java, who is sponsored this year by the Department of of Asian Languages and Cultures, the Residential College, the School of Literature Science and the Arts, and the School of Music Theater and Dance), Susan Pratt Walton (director of the UM Gamelan and lecturer at the Residential College) and four students from the advanced gamelan class. The performance showcases Balinese kecak which depicts the monkey army of the Ramayana and which chants in rapid, interlocking patters. Four UM students from the beginning Javanese gamelan class will be trained to be a part of this group. The University is offering seven courses this semester that focus on the Ramayana: Performing Arts of S and SE Asia, beginning and advanced gamelan, beginning and advanced Javanese dance and Javanese shadow puppetry. These classes will prepare students for a performance of the Ramayana in April 2008.

For more info: whartoncenter.com and ragamala.net