Ragamala Dance Company marked its 25th Anniversary at the Cowles Center in Minneapolis on September 14th and 16th. I attended the Saturday night concert featuring Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer Alarmél Valli, with musicians C.K. Vasudevan (nattuvangam), Vasuda Ravi (vocal), M. Dhananjayan (mridangam), G.Raghuraman (flute), and Akkari Swarnalatha (violin). Valli is a legendary figure in Bharatanatyam dance; Ragamala directors Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy, both Minneapolis-based, call her their guru. And Valli calls Minneapolis her second home, describing it as a place where Bharatanatyam reaches mainstream audiences and yet the integrity of the art form remains intact. She credits Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy for this feat. Saturday’s two hour and fifteen-minute program was, in Valli’s words, “almost the length of a program that would be presented in India.” There was no intermission and the pacing conveyed an overall feeling of honor and ritual. Nonetheless, the healthy pause that followed each piece was usually filled with muffled audience chatter. In between dances, Valli stood downstage left, by a small golden sculpture surrounded by white petals, and addressed the audience, explaining the theatrical elements of the dance about to be performed and demonstrating of the codified hand gestures that would be used to express the tale. […]
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