Ashwini Ramaswamy Let the Crows Come Playbill 03/01/23

PHOTO CREDIT: JAKE ARMOUR

Thank You

THIS ENGAGEMENT OF ASHWINI RAMASWAMY Let the Crows Come

IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation

Clinton Webb Fund

THANKS TO OUR 2022-2023 MODLIN ARTS PRESENTS SEASON SPONSORS & PARTNERS

Louis S. Booth Arts Fund

Dewitt Fund for the Arts

A. Dale Mayo Fund

Cultural Affairs Committee

Virginia B. Modlin Endowment

H. G. Quigg Fund

You Belong Here

WELCOME

Welcome back to Modlin Center for the Arts! I am grateful for this opportunity to be together again and thrilled with the season we have put together because I know that every artist can—and will—create unforgettable moments.

Across our 2022-2023 season, you will find artists from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, with an emphasis on BIPOC and women-led companies. And you will discover a range of stories, dance, and music of many different genres—some familiar, others new. Each performance is a unique window into the human experience, which I hope will open new paths for conversation and connection.

As the season continues, I look forward to visiting with you in the lobby and hearing about your experiences at the Modlin Center. We want you to be a part of the Modlin community. The Department of Music Free Concert Series and UR Free Theatre and Dance season add 30+ additional opportunities to see compelling performances. And UR Museums host exhibitions and programs that are free and open to the public. Thank you for being with us.

Paul Brohan, Executive Director

MODLIN ARTS

SEPTEMBER

FRI. 9 7:30 PM David Esleck Trio

THU. 15 7:30 PM Steep Canyon Rangers

SUN. 18 3:00 PM Joanne Kong, piano, harpsichord and clavichord

THU. 22 7:30 PM DeLanna Studi, And So We Walked

FRI. 23 7:30 PM Family Weekend Concert

WED. 28 7:30 PM Dreamers' Circus

THU.-FRI 29-30 7:30 PM Smart People

OCTOBER

SAT. 1 7:30 PM Smart People

SUN. 2 2:00 PM Smart People

SUN. 2 7:30 PM Dorrance Dance, SOUNDspace

THU. 6 7:30 PM Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi

FRI. 14 7:30 PM Bill Irwin, On Beckett

SUN. 16 2:00 PM 12th Annual Celebration of Dance

FRI. 21 7:30 PM Step Afrika!, Drumfolk

SUN. 23 3:00 PM Sonia De Los Santos, Family Arts Day

THU. 27 7:30 PM Susanna Phillips, soprano

SUN, 30 3:00 PM UR Schola Cantorum and Women's Chorale

NOVEMBER

FRI.-SAT. 4-5 Multiple Third Practice Music Festival* CANCELED

WED. 9 7:30 PM UR Jazz & Contemporary Combos

THUR. 10 7:30 PM Aaron Diehl Trio

SAT. 12 6:30 PM 8:30 PM Amal Kassir

SUN. 13 3:00 PM Preservation Hall Jazz Band, 60 thAnniversary Celebration

WED. 16 7:30 PM UR Jazz Ensemble

THU.-SAT. 17-19 7:30 PM Miss You Like Hell

SUN. 20 2:00 PM Miss You Like Hell

SUN. 20 3:00 PM Global Sounds

MON. 21 7:30 PM UR Wind Ensemble

MON. 28 7:30 PM UR Chamber Ensembles

WED. 30 7:30 PM UR Symphony Orchestra

DECEMBER

SUN. 4 5:00 PM 8:00 PM 49th Annual Festival of Lessons and Carols

*Visit thirpractice.org for a full schedule of events.

JANUARY

SAT. 21 7:30 PM Kronos Quartet, At War With Ourselves

FRI. 27 7:30 PM Mark Morris Dance Group, The Look of Love

FEBRUARY

WED. 1 7:30 PM Richard Becker, piano

FRI. 3 7:30 PM Fred Hersch and esperanza spalding

SUN. 5 3:00 PM Anthony McGill, clarinet, and Gloria Chien, piano

FRI. 10 7:30 PM Rosanne Cash

WED. 15 7:30 PM Joshua Redman, 3x3

SUN. 19 3:00 PM Third Coast Percussion and Flutronix

WED. 22 7:30 PM Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

THU.-SAT. 24-26 7:30 PM University Dancers 38th Annual Concert

SUN. 26 3:00 PM Kayhan Kalhor, kamancheh

MARCH

WED. 1 7:30 PM Ashwini Ramaswamy, Let the Crows Come

SUN. 19 3:00 PM Doris Wylee-Becker, piano

MON. 20 7:30 PM Neumann Lecture on Music, Dr. Sherry D. Lee, Professor of Musicology

MON. 27 7:30 PM Bruce Stevens, organ

FRI. 31 7:30 PM Christian McBride’s New Jawn

WED. 5 7:30 PM UR Symphony Orchestra

THUR. 6 7:30 PM UR Jazz & Contemporary Combos

WED. 12 7:30 PM Leyla McCalla

THU.-SAT. 13-15 7:30 PM The Rivals

SAT. 15 3:00 PM Global Sounds

APRIL

SUN, 16 3:00 PM UR Schola Cantorum and Women's Chorale

SUN. 16 2:00 PM The Rivals

TPO, Farfalle

SUN.

MODLIN ARTS PRESENTS

ASHWINI RAMASWAMY LET THE CROWS COME

“a fascinating, beautifully developed exchange of dance styles among three women”

- The Washington Post ‘Best Dance of 2021’

“

Ramaswamy’s imagination united and flourished, creating space, not just for more generations but more ways of thinking.” - The New York Times, Critic’s Pick

Concept, Lead Choreography and Direction:

Ashwini Ramaswamy

Co-Choreography:

Berit Ahlgren and Alanna Morris

Original Musical Compositions: Brent Arnold, Jace Clayton, and Prema Ramamurthy, with additional compositions and score development by Rohan

Krishnamurthy, Roopa Mahadevan and Arun Ramamurthy

Artistic Advisors:

Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy

Abhinaya coach: Ranee Ramaswamy

Lighting Design/Technical Director: Mat Terwilliger

Costumes: Shanti Taylors and Carole Bruns Couture

Approximate run time for this performance is 1 hour, without intermission.

PHOTO CREDIT: MARIA BARANOVA

“My work negotiates the multiple cultural planes where many of us exist; being from two distinct cultures is the energizing tension in my choreographic process. Like a phantom limb, my Indian ancestry lingers with me, informing my artistic work and daily interactions; my upbringing in both India and the U.S. has encouraged an aesthetic perspective with a hybrid compass. Evoking the timelessness of mythography and the cyclical essence of ancestry, Let the Crows Come utilizes the metaphor of crows as messengers for the living and guides for the departed — and in the process explores how memory and homeland channel guidance and dislocation. Each artist has been specifically chosen for what they bring to the stage, and in creating this work we have communicated one-on-one and collectively to bring this project to life. I developed the visual language of Let the Crows Come from a variety of sources, including second-century Tamil Sangam poetry, ancient Sanskrit texts, and the Hindu ritual of Pitru Paksha. These sources allow us entry into a world where the human, the natural and the metaphysical — as well as past, present, and future — are forever engaged in sacred movement.

I would like to thank the commissioner of this project, Kate Nordstrum/ Liquid Music; my mentors/family members Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy, who are always willing to offer advice and guidance — our shared trust in each other’s ideas and insights is the foundation of our artistic practice; and our guru in Chennai, India, Smt. Alarmél Valli, who has provided us with an art form and aesthetic direction that makes every creative endeavor possible.”

— Ashwini Ramaswamy

PHOTO CREDIT: MARIA BARANOVA

DANCE

Bharatanatyam is a living, breathing movement language with which to speak about the contemporary human experience. Originating in southeastern India and used for thousands of years to embody universal history via cosmogony, myth, legend and history — Bharatanatyam has evolved into a potent tool with which to mediate between the spiritual and physical worlds. Let the Crows Come weaves together three dance solos for three distinct dancers: Ashwini selected Alanna Morris (trained in Modern dance and a researcher of African Diasporic dance forms) and Berit Ahlgren (trained in the Israeli dance form Gaga) to deconstruct, extrapolate and retrograde Bharatanatyam into unique movement paradigms.

MUSIC

Let the Crows Come evolved from a simple observation; when a DJ remixes a song, he/she/they maintains its essence while changing its trajectory. For Ashwini, this transmutation is reminiscent of being a second-generation immigrant — a person that has been culturally remixed to fit into multiple places at once. Reflecting the three dancers and three sections, the original score, by three composers — Jace Clayton (aka DJ /rupture), Prema

Ramamurthy (south Indian Carnatic), and Brent Arnold (electro-acoustic cello) — is played by a hybrid musical ensemble of Carnatic classical, western classical and electronic musicians. The soundscape evolves with the movement, evoking a memory that has a shared origin but is remembered differently from person to person.

RITUAL

In Hinduism, there is a belief that crows play a major role in linking the living to the dead. In this sense, they bring to vivid life the spirits of the

PHOTO CREDIT: MARIA BARANOVA

past. Pitru Paksha (meaning fortnight of the ancestors) is a period when Hindus pay tribute to their ancestors so that the departed souls can rest in peace. After burning a mixture of sandalwood and camphor, rice is offered to the crows. This single ritualistic practice is a microcosm of the supernatural relationship between the physical and non-physical worlds.

SOURCE TEXTS

The Ramayana

The opening musical interlude references The Hindu epic poem Ramayana — one of the largest epics in world literature, with multiple meanings to unravel and compositional layers to decipher. One interpretation contains an origin story of the crow and its role as an emissary between worlds.

Brihatsamhita and Kakajarita

The Brihatsamhita, by Hindu polymath Varahamihira, is an encyclopedic book covering wide ranging subjects including divination, astronomy, planetary movements, eclipses, rainfall, clouds, architecture, crops, matrimony and rituals. Kakajarita is an ancient Sanskrit text that foretells coming events through careful attention to the cries, flight patterns, and behavior of crows.

Tamil Sangam literature

The Sangam poets of South India believed that human emotions directly reflect their surrounding environments; the first poem in Let the Crows Come uses the call of the crow to signals the return of a departed relative or loved one; the second is interpreted by Ashwini as a message of tolerance from the ancestors to future generations.

PHOTO CREDIT: MARIA BARANOVA

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

ASHWINI RAMASWAMY (lead choreographer/dancer) is committed to maintaining the beauty, technique, rigor, and values embedded in her Bharatanatyam lineage while forming a personal vision for collaborative, multidisciplinary performance experiences. Like a phantom limb, her Indian ancestry lingers within her, informing her artistic work and daily interactions; Ashwini’s upbringing in both India and the U.S. has encouraged an aesthetic perspective with a hybrid compass. She has spent over 30 years studying Bharatanatyam from awardwinning artists Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy (her mother and sister), and their guru, the legendary Smt. Alarmél Valli of Chennai, India since 2011. As a founding member of Ragamala Dance Company, she has toured extensively, performing throughout the U.S. and internationally. Her choreographic work has been presented by the O’Shaughnessy, Cowles Center, Baryshnikov Arts Center (New York, NY), The Yard (Martha’s Vineyard, MA), Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts (Scottsdale, AZ), and The Just Festival (Edinburgh, U.K), among others. Ashwini has received commissions from the Liquid Music Series, Great Northern, Santa Monica College and Macalester College; residencies at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, UNC Chapel Hill, Kohler Arts Center, the National Center for Choreography, the Bogliasco Foundation (Bogliasco, Italy) and Camargo Foundation (Cassis, France, 2023); support from the National Dance Project, MAP Fund, USArtists International, National Performance Network, Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, South Asian Arts Resiliency Fund, a Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, and McKnight Foundation Artist Fellowships for Dance and Choreography. Her work has been listed among the ‘Best of the Year’ in The Washington Post, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnpost, and as a critic’s pick in The New York Times

BERIT AHLGREN (co-choreographer/dancer)

Native to St. Paul, Minnesota, Berit Ahlgren gained her foundational dance training from Minnesota Dance Theater and received a BFA in Dance from St. Olaf College, where she also studied biomedical studies. Ahlgren was a founding member of TU Dance and

PHOTO CREDIT: MARIA BARANOVA

PHOTO CREDIT: JAYME HALBRITTER

performed with the company between 2006—2016. Having received Metropolitan Regional Arts Council’s Next Step Grant in 2011, Ahlgren had the opportunity to study the Gaga Movement Language in Tel Aviv, and moved to Israel to pursue teacher certification between 2011— 2012. Ahlgren earned her MFA in Dance from NYU/Tisch School of the Arts in 2016, and has since been on faculty at the University of Minnesota and Winona State University, performing with independent choreographers between Minneapolis and New York, and choreographing her own body of work for both stage and camera under her fledgling dance organization, HoneyWorks (2019). Ahlgren has had the great pleasure to work with choreographers Crystal Pite, Ohad Naharin, Netta Yerushalmy, Dimitri Chamblas, Gregory Dolbashian, Dwight Rhodan, Ashwini Ramaswamy, and Helen Hatch, among others. In addition to her work as dancer-choreographer, Berit teaches weekly Gaga/people classes and continues her Gaga studies with regular trainings online, nationally, and abroad.

BRENT ARNOLD (composer, cellist) In addition to dozens of works for solo cello and electronics, Brent has written numerous pieces for concert, film, theater, and dance, combining classical and non-Western elements with electronic processing and improvisation. He has toured as a solo artist in North America, Europe, and Japan. His most recent solo album, Night, Exquisite, was called “a journey” and “a beautiful record” by Vice magazine and “Cinematic and lushly coherent” by Time Out New York. He is currently music director for the live performances of Robert A. A. Lowe’s score to Nia DaCosta’s film Candyman. brentarnoldmusic.com

ANANYA ASHOK (vocalist) is an award-winning vocalist and Veena artist. She has performed in various prestigious venues in India and worldwide over the last 10 years. Based in Bay Area, California, USA, she is an active performer and educator of the Indian classical arts.

JACE CLAYTON (composer, DJ) Jace Clayton is an artist and writer based in New York, also known for his work as DJ /rupture. He is the author of Uproot: Travels in 21st Century Music and Digital Culture (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) and was awarded a 2020 Andy Warhol Foundation Art Writers Grant to support Behold the Monkey, his upcoming book on contemporary art, faith, and social media. Clayton is currently Assistant Professor of Visual Arts at Columbia University and Interim Director of the Sound Arts Program. Clayton has performed in over three dozen countries, both solo and as director of large ensemble performances. Since 2018 his work has been exhibited internationally. Most recently, he composed an original soundtrack for Riotsville USA, a film which debuted at Sundance in January.

ROHAN KRISHNAMURTHY (co-composer, percussion - mridangam, khanjira, ghatam) Indian-American percussionist, composer, and educator Dr. Rohan Krishnamurthy is one of the leading voices of Indian classical and cross-genre music in the South Asian diaspora. Acclaimed a “musical ambassador” by The Times of India, he received mridangam training from the legendary maestro, Sri. Guruvayur Dorai, tabla with Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri at the Ali Akbar College of Music, and drum set with Alan Hall at the California Jazz Conservatory. Distinguished as a soloist, composer, and collaborator, Rohan performed with legendary Indian classical musicians and Grammy Award-winning global artists. Rohan leads The Alaya Project, an Indo-jazz-funk collective featuring celebrated saxophonist Prasant Radhakrishnan and keyboardist Colin Hogan. The group’s recently released debut album has been praised by Jazziz Magazine, NPR, San Francisco Chronicle, and more. Rohan holds a Ph.D. in musicology from the Eastman School of Music and directs the RohanRhythm Percussion Studio with students from across the globe. Rohan is the recipient of international awards and grants including commissions from the San Francisco Arts Commission, Zellerbach Foundation, and Goethe Institute (Germany). He has taught at renowned institutions and his patented RohanRhythm drum tuning system is available worldwide.

ALANNA MORRIS (co-choreographer/dancer) is a Dancer-Choreographer, Educator, Artist Organizer, and Curator. Morris danced with TU Dance under Artistic Directors Toni Pierce-Sands and Uri Sands from 2007–2017. In 2018 Alanna was named Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch!” In 2019, Minneapolis’ City Pages’ Artist of the Year and Best Choreographer for their solo, “Yam, Potatoe an Fish!” Alanna has received fellowships from the McKnight Foundation for Dance (2015) and Choreography (2021) and Springboard Danse Montréal (2022). Morris is the Artistic Director of I A.M. Arts, founded in 2017 to produce critical dance performance; movement practice for all ages; mentorship for early career professionals; and community development programs for midcareer women Creatives. Morris is currently developing a performance art project and methodology around the divinity of blackness and the eternal validity of the soul (Seth), being researched in phases over multiple years, through research, teaching, and collaborative performance. Morris is currently touring Let The Crows Come with Ashwini Ramaswamy and Collaborators; and will premiere Invisible Cities (contributing choreography for the ensemble and as performer), directed by Ashwini

PHOTO CREDIT: JAYME HALBRITTER

Ramaswamy in January 2023. Alanna is a Visiting Professor of Dance at Carleton College and a graduate of The Juilliard School.

ARUN RAMAMURTHY (co-composer, violin) is a multifaceted violinist, composer and educator based in Brooklyn, NY, and is a disciple of the celebrated Carnatic violinist brothers, Sri Mysore Nagaraj & Dr. Mysore Manjunath and the esteemed violinist Sri Ananthakrishnan. He has distinguished himself as a versatile artist, performing internationally in both traditional Carnatic and Hindustani settings as well as bridging genres with his own innovative projects like the acclaimed Arun Ramamurthy Trio and Nakshatra with violinist and wife Trina Basu. He has shared the stage with artists like Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Sudha Ragunathan, Reggie Workman, Kenny Werner, Jamey Haddad, Amir ElSaffar, Adam Rudolph amongst others. Arun’s music has brought him prestigious stages like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Celebrate Brooklyn and many more. Arun is co-founder and Artistic Director of Brooklyn Raga Massive, a globally recognized collective of forward thinking musicians rooted-in and inspired-by the classical music of India. Throughout his career, Arun has curated and performed in hundreds of concerts bringing together music from all over the world. (www.arunramamurthy.com)

PREMA RAMAMURTHY (composer) has been an outstanding vocalist and composer for more than four decades. She received intensive training under maestro Padmavibhushan Dr. Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna, specialized in the art of Pallavi singing from Vidwan Sri T. V. Gopalakrishnan, and learned the art of singing Padams and Javalis from Mrs. T. Muktha. She has won critical acclaim as a composer and has performed in many of the top venues and festivals of India, the U.S., Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Mexico and South Africa.

Let the Crows Come is commissioned by the Liquid Music Series and is made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project and the MAP Fund (both supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation), and was developed in part during residencies at the Baryshnikov Arts Center (New York, NY), and the National Center for Choreography at the University of Akron (OH).

Modlin Arts

CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE’S NEW JAWN

Friday, Mar. 31, 2023

7:30 PM, Camp Concert Hall

The acclaimed bassist has put together a top-flight quartet –Christian McBride’s New Jawn – that ably walks the razor’s edge between thrilling virtuosity and gut-punch instinctiveness.

LEYLA MCCALLA

Wednesday, Apr. 12, 2023

7:30 PM, Camp Concert Hall

Cellist Leyla McCalla draws on her Haitian heritage, the traditions of her New Orleans home (where she cut her teeth playing on the streets of the French Quarter), and a wealth of classical and folk vocabulary to create engaging, innovative, socially aware music.

COMPAGNIA TPO, FARFALLE

MAY 13, 2023 • 11:00 AM & 3:00 PM

MAY 14, 2023 • 1:00 PM & 3:00 PM

Cousins Studio Theatre

Compagnia TPO is renowned for interactive performances that bring children into the art—not as a gimmick, but as a central part of the artistry itself. Farfalle combines dance, images, digital design, and the joy and wonder of the young people in the audience. .

ticket infOrmation

WELCOME TO MODLIN ARTS PRESENTS 2022-2023!

MODLIN CENTER BOX OFFICE INFORMATION

The Box Office is open 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday, and 90 minutes prior to performances. Tickets can be purchased in person, by phone at 804-289-8980 and online at modlin.richmond.edu .

TICKET POLICY

Single event ticket purchases are final, and no refunds or exchanges are available. Create Your Own (4+) Series patrons can enjoy the benefit of flexible ticketing, with options* for no-fee ticket exchanges or account credits, with *minimum 24 hours notice to Modlin Center Box Office staff.

CONCESSIONS AT MODLIN ARTS PRESENTS PERFORMANCES

Beverages and snacks are available for purchase before performances and during intermission at most Modlin Arts Presents performances. Drinks are permitted inside the venues so that you can relax and enjoy the performance with your purchases. We ask that food remain outside.

WE ARE COMMITTED TO ACCESSIBILITY

If you have accessibility needs, please inform the box office when purchasing tickets so that we can better welcome you to Modlin. Wheelchair and accessible seating are available in Camp Concert Hall and Alice Jepson Theatre. Assistive listening devices are also available.

HEALTH AND SAFETY AT MODLIN CENTER

Modlin is committed to creating a comfortable, enjoyable, and safe environment for all our patrons. If you are unwell or feel uncomfortable attending an event, please stay home. Masks will be available onsite at the Box Office and at the performance venue for the comfort and convenience of patrons.

YOUR SUPPORT TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE

Gifts to the Modlin Center support performance experiences and learning opportunities for new audiences. Your contributions make discovery and creative expression possible. Gift Certificates are another way to share the gift of the arts. Gifts can be made in person at the box office or at modlin.richmond.edu. For more ways to support the Modlin Center, please email modlinarts@richmond.edu or call 804-289-8980.

SOMETHING WE HAVE ALL LEARNED OF LATE

Programs are subject to change.

Museums

JAY LYNN GOMEZ: DOMESTIC SCENES RECONSIDERED.

Jan 23, 2023 – Apr 21, 2023

Harnett Museum of Art

IMAGE CREDIT:

Jay Lynn Gomez (American, born 1986), No Splash (after David Hockney’s A Bigger Splash, 1967), acrylic on canvas, 96 x 96 inches, 2013. Courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles. Permanent collection of Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego. (c) Jay Lynn Gomez, Photo: Osceola Refetoff

SWAN SONG: CELEBRATING THE PERMANENT COLLECTION

Nov 03, 2022 - Apr 21, 2023

Harnett Museum of Art

IMAGE CREDIT:

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864-1901), La revue blanche, 1895, stone lithograph printed in four colors on two sheets of machine wove paper, 49 7/16 x 35 7/8 inches, Joel andLila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Gift of Jan and Howard Hendler, H2018.12.01

CRYSTALS: MINERALS FROM THE COLLECTION

Oct 13, 2022 – Apr 21, 2023

Harnett Museum of Art

IMAGE CREDIT:

Taylor Dabney

Rhodochrosite, MnCO3

Nchwaning Mine, Kuruman District, Northern Cape Province, South Africa

Museum purchase, R1978.01.1543