# Ragamala Dance Company at Zellerbach Playhouse, December 2, 2017

[Cal Performances](https://calperformances.org/performances/2017-18/world-stage/ragamala-dance-company-written-in-water.php) presents _Written in Water_ featuring [Ragamala Dance Company](https://www.ragamaladance.org/), accompanied by [Amir El Saffar](http://www.amirelsaffar.com/)  
[Zellerbach Playhouse](http://www.calperfs.berkeley.edu/)  
[U.C. Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94305 USA](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=U.C.+Berkeley,+Bancroft+Way+at+Telegraph+Ave,+Berkeley,+CA+94305+USA&hl=en)  
8:00 PM, Saturday, December 2, 2017

[[2017-12-01|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2017|Up to the 2017 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2017#December_events|Up to the 2017 event list!]] ☸ [[2017-12-03|On to the next event!]]

## One Set

[8:06 PM lights down, announcements]  
[show begins 8:07 PM]  
[show ends 9:03 PM]

[{{:2017:2017-12:200906xx-krishna-chinese_1_.jpg?nolink&360|Keshav's painting, "Experiments with Krishna 01"}}]

## Performers

### Ragamala Dance Company

[Ragamala Dance Company](https://www.ragamaladance.org/)

* Jessica Fiala: dancer;
* Tamara Nadel: dancer;
* Aparna Ramaswamy: dancer, choreographer, co-director;
* Ashwini Ramaswamy: dancer;
* Ranee Ramaswamy: dancer, choreographer, co-director;

### Amir El Saffar & Ensemble

* [Kasi Aysola](https://www.facebook.com/kasi.aysola): nattuvangam, vox;
* [Amir El Saffar](http://www.amirelsaffar.com/): trumpet, santur, vox;
* [Rohan Krishnamurthy](http://www.rohanrhythm.com/): mrdingam.
* Preethy Mahesh: vox;
* [Arun Ramamurthy](https://arunramamurthytrio.bandcamp.com/): violin;

### Production Credits

* Jeff Bartlett: lighting design;
* Maury Jensen: sound engineer;
* [Keshav](https://keshavgallery.wordpress.com/): visual art;
* Rob Simmer: video director;
* Matt Terwilliger: lighting supervisor, production manager.

## Notes

Tonight's show was so far outside my area of familiarity that it was all I coud do to stay focused and continue watching/listening instead of glazing out on sensory overload and drifting off to blissful sleep. Which isn't to say that the show was boring in any way. Just overwhelming. I knew that there was a lot that I just didn't get (what does it mean when the dancers move like that? what is the role of the background art projections compared to the dance floor art? and so on and so on and so on), and the flood of uncertainty was so unnerving that I found it easier to shut my eyes (the better to focus on the more familiar musical element) than to try and take it all in.

I guess that means I should have ditched work for the show-and-tell dress rehearsal this morning: sticking to the original plan would have helped me be better prepared! Ah, yeah, well. Much too late for that now.

The show was great. One of those events where it starts, the happening washes over you, and then somehow, mysteriously, it's an hour or so later, and you're wondering what just happened. Sometimes it's good to experience too much!

{{tag>dance music Ragamala_Dance_Company Amir_El_Saffar Zellerbach_Playhouse Jessica_Fiala Tamara_Nadel Aparna_Ramaswamy Ashwini_Ramaswamy Ranee_Ramaswamy Kasi_Aysola Rohan_Krishnamurthy Preethy_Mahesh Arun_Ramamurthy}}

[[2017-12-01|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2017|Up to the 2017 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2017#December_events|Up to the 2017 event list!]] ☸ [[2017-12-03|On to the next event!]]