Written in Water

Conceived and choreographed by Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy, Written in Water explores the universal archetype of a seeker on a journey to connect the human with the transcendent and reveal mysteries within the self. In this large-scale, multimedia dance work, dancers and musicians move freely between composition and improvisation, and activate the space by negotiating snakes and ladders--representing the heights of ecstasy and depths of longing. 

Forging new artistic paradigms, Ragamala has commissioned a score from Carnatic composer Prema Ramamurthy and Iraqi-American composer/musician Amir ElSaffar -- who leads a live, 5-person musical ensemble with a distinct alchemy of Iraqi, jazz, and South Indian instruments. The work unfolds amidst lush images of paintings commissioned from visual artist V. Keshav (Chennai, India), projected on the stage floor and upstage scrim.

TOURING HISTORY

The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Washington DC
The Soraya, Los Angeles, CA
University Musical Society at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Cal Presents at Zellerbach Hall, University of California/Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
University of Texas, Austin, TX
Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville, AK
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Beckett, MA
Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Chicago, IL
Ordway Center for Performing Arts, St. Paul, MN

Written in Water was commissioned by the Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (Lead Commissioner) and Opening Nights Performing Arts at Florida State University. The creation of Written in Water was made possible, in part, by a 2016 Joyce Award from the Joyce Foundation, the Doris Duke Performing Artist Awards program, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, New Music/USA (made possible by annual program support and/or endowment gifts from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, Baisley Powell Elebash Fund, Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation), the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation), the Fredrikson & Byron Foundation, and the Carolyn Foundation, and was supported in part by choreographic and production residencies at The Yard in Martha’s Vineyard, the Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi, the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC) at Florida State University in Tallahassee, and the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts in Minneapolis, MN.