Review: Lighting, music and dance bring an ancient epic to life in Ragamala’s world premiere

Ragamala Dance Company’s performance of “Children of Dharma” at Northrop on Saturday exemplified how much a great design adds to a live performance. The bharatanatyam performance featuring stories from the ancient Hindu epic ”The Mahabharata” was made vividly alive by lighting and scenic designer Willy Cessa.

Cessa’s set design was deceptively simple — hanging from the ceiling were giant rectangular strips, subtly irregular in shape, which served as the backdrop. In the first scene, the strips appeared in shades of white, black and gray, and evoked a forest scene as the character of Krishna (with voiceover narration by Leon Conrad) was introduced.

Later, images of gods, ancient sculptures found on temple towers, and characters from the stories were projected onto the backdrops, creating a three-dimensional look because of the staggered way the drops were hung. Additionally, spectacular lighting specials ― such as a bright square of light on the floor — became almost sculptural.

As Krishna, Garrett Sour emanated a bewitching aura from the evening’s first moment when he danced alone onstage, accompanied by recorded throat singing. A little later on, Sour moved in slow motion with precise focus.

Krishna served as narrator for the stories, with text that often contained a lesson, like commentary about the cyclical nature of life and death. The heightened text also inserted Krishna’s judgment of the other characters.

Ranee Ramaswamy and her daughters Aparna and Ashwini, who co-created, co-choreographed and co-directed “Children of Dharma,” each danced solo roles in this world premiere that featured vigorous footwork and a percussive flourish.

With some moments of synchronicity but more often distinct movements that appeared to play off one another like a call and response, a duet between Aparna and Ashwini showcased an electric connection between the sisters. Later, Ranee tapped extreme emotions as the character of Gandhari, who in a fit of rage cursed the god Krishna following the death of her 100 children.

The show’s score, recorded in Los Angeles and India, featured original compositions by Ranee, percussionist S. Sakthivel Muruganantham and Prema Ramamurthy.

Often, a new piece of music would begin as the previous scene concluded, so that the music not only helped transition each scene change but also propelled the action of the next scene. The music often helped highlight different characters, just as the choreography sometimes made note of the musical instruments through gestures.

The flute, particularly, appeared as a mimed object on numerous occasions. The seven-member ensemble made up of vocals, percussion, violin and flute, while not live, was an integral part of the overall experience of the show.

For audience members not intimately familiar with the stories in the Mahabharata, Ragamala’s production, a Northrop Centennial Commission, offered a taste of just a few of its characters and philosophical themes. The ancient stories got a boost from the high production values put into the show.