Professors Robert Rushing and Cara Tovey (UCLA European Languages & Transcultural Studies) and choreographer and dancer Ashwini Ramaswamy will talk about the relationship between literature and dance in her multimedia dance adaptation of Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities.
Date and time: Fri October 20 | 4:00 pm
Venue: UCLA Royce 236
Ashwini Ramaswamy has spent over 30 years studying Bharatanatyam from award-winning choreographers Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy (her mother and sister), and their guru, the legendary Smt. Alarmél Valli of Chennai, India since 2011. The New York Times describes Ashwini as “weaving together, both fearfully and joyfully, the human and the divine…there is a continual flow of energy coursing through her limbs.” As a founding member of Ranee and Aparna’s Ragamala Dance Company, she has toured extensively, performing throughout the U.S. and in Russia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, the U.K, and India.
Invisible Cities Featuring 13 dancers, this reimagining of Italo Calvino’s metaphysical novel interweaves cultural perspectives with a dynamic group of lead dancers —Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy (Bharatanatyam), Berit Ahlgren (Gaga), Alanna Morris (Modern), Joseph Tran (Breaking)—and visual artist, Kevork Mourad, who creates Invisible Cities’ interactive, immersive projections and illustrations in real time.
This event is part of the 23rd edition of the Week of Italian Language in the World – the Italian Language and Sustainability, with a specific focus on the work of Italian writer Italo Calvino (1923-1985), celebrating the 100th anniversary of his birth.
