University Musical Society Presents: UMS 101: Dance Ragamala Dance Company

Participants will learn about the building blocks of this traditional dance form and understand how the musical traditions of Arabic maqam and South Indian Carnatic music inspired the dance.

After class, participants will see Written in Water, the Ragamala Dance performance that explores the concept of spiritual ascension through the 2nd-century Indian board game Paramapadam (upon which Snakes & Ladders is based) and the 12th century Persian epic The Conference of the Birds.

The instructor for this course is Sreyashi Dey. Dey is one of the foremost exponents of Odissi in the US, and the Founder and Artistic Director of Srishti Dances of India, and more recently, Akshara. Dey regularly tours the US and has also performed internationally.