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| Mudra: The Gesture Speaks |
Press Release
10/30/2007
Time: 8:00 pm
Venue: Bowker Auditorium,UMass, Amherst.
Pre-performance: A Tribute to Ranjanaa Devi 730 pm, Bowker Auditorium
Tickets: $20, 15; Five College students: $10, 7; Youth 17 & under: $12.
For tickets call: 1-800-999-UMAS or 545-2511
Online: www.fineartscenter.com
Information: Asian Arts & Culture Program (413) 577-2486
Parking: $1 in the Campus Garage
Celebrating their 25th anniversary, Nataraj Dancers under the leadership of its founder and artistic director Ranjanaa Devi, will premier its newest dance theater production Mudra: The Gesture speaks..., a spectacular work linking dance, live music and theater in a series of arresting scenes. With artistic direction and choreography by Ranjanaa Devi, Mudra will include western Massachusetts’ only Indian dance company Nataraj Dancers along with a host of guest artists; well known percussionist Pandit Samir Chatterjee on the tablas and other drums, Perry Yung on the Japanese flute, soaring vocals by Bharathi Janaswamy, sound mix by Tony Silva, theater director Catherine King, actors, five college dancers and video projections by Jim Coleman.
Drawing inspiration from the ancient ritual of kalari martial arts, song poems of Mirabai, dialogue and images, Devi creates a remarkable visual tapestry of ideas that are expressed through gestures – both abstract and literal, hand and body movements and spoken words. Mudra exposes the audience to the sheer beauty, power and skill of the hand; it highlights the expressiveness of hands in action. Mudra is the Sanskrit word for a hand gesture depicting a thought, an idea or a word in classical Indian dance. Used in narrative and poetic dance sequences, mudras uniquely tell a story in a literal manner often making the “word†inconsequential for those educated in Indian classical dance vocabulary. Mudra is timeless. Simple and complex hand gestures are used every day and everywhere by people as a way of communication.
Ranjanaa Devi is credited for creating a Gateway to Learning about India through the Arts in western Massachusetts. Since 1982 she has choreographed and directed several unique dance-theater productions that have been presented in major U.S. cities (New York, Washington DC etc.), a commissioned work by Williams College Museum of Art, performances at Peabody Essex Museum, Springfield Quadrangle Museums among others. Her work has also been presented internationally in Kolkata Art Museum, India, Montreal, Canada, Sydney, Australia and Tokyo, Japan. Video documentation of her work has been acquired for use by many university libraries worldwide. She has served on artist panels for Massachusetts Cultural Council grants and has received several awards in the cultural heritage preservation, organization and professional development categories for her own work. She has presented several papers and workshops at regional, national and international conferences. Her dedication to teaching Indian dance in the Valley has benefited hundred of students in the last 25 years. A pre-performance Tribute for her work and efforts will be presented at 7:30 pm.
Pandit Samir Chatterjee is a virtuoso Tabla player of India now based in New York. He travels widely across the world throughout the year performing in numerous festivals as a soloist or with other outstanding musicians from both Indian and western traditions. He has become a catalyst in the fusion of Indian and Western music, performing with Pauline Oliveros, Ravi Coltrane, Dave Douglas, Myra Melford, Steve Gorn, Glen Velez, Boby Sanabria, Ben Verdery, William Parker, Dance Theater of Harlem, Ethos Percussion group, Da Capo Chamber Orchestra, Boston Musica Viva and other jazz and avant guard musicians. He is a member of jazz trios, SYNC with Ned Rothenberg and Jerome Harris and MANODHARMA with Rudresh Mahanthappa and Vijay Iyer. He is the composer and director of Nacho Nacho - Gypsy Storyteller and Chhand-Anand, World percussion Ensemble. He performs with Sanjay Mishra on his CD " Blue Incantation " featuring Jerry Garcia as guest artist. Pandit Samir Chatterjee has been teaching for the last 25 years and many of his students are established performers. He is the Founder-Director of CHHANDAYAN, an organization dedicated to promoting and preserving Indian music and culture.
Mudra: the gesture speaks…will premiere at 8PM in Bowker Auditorium located in Stockbridge Hall across from the Campus Center Parking Garage. A special $1 parking rate in the Campus Garage will be available for show patrons. Information about the Asian Arts and Culture Program events: www.umass.edu/fac/asian or call the AACP office: (413) 577-2486. Downloadable high resolution photos for performance events are available at: http://www.umass.edu/fac/asian/press.html
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