Premiered September 22, 2002
Rangoli Festival, California State University, Northridge, Ca
Music Composition – Rajkumar Bharati (Chennai) & G. Gurumurthy (Bangalore)
Lighting Design – Lakshmi Iyengar, Costumes – Malathi Iyengar
Cast: Disciples of Malathi Iyengar, Guru Narmada, and guest artists from India.
Renjith Babu, Ronald Burton, Sandra Chatterjee, Neewin Hershall, Lakshmi Iyengar, Shyamala Moorty,
K. Murali Mohan, Alia Rice, & Shaheen Sheik, Padmini Sirish, & Soumya Sundaresh
‘Sacred Geometry’ uses the geometric figures and shapes to depict the beauty of creation and shows how an absolute unity can become multiplicity and diversity. The work explores form, movement, space, and time as evoked by the sacred diagrams, the ‘mandalas’ and the nine planets, the ‘Navagraha’. The iconographic postures and positions of Indian classical dances depict geometric angular relationships from the axis of the body’s center of gravity. These positions, while defining principle angles, are also often attributed to various deities and are meant to convey their characteristic powers. Whether the product of an eastern or western culture, the geometric shapes, sacred diagrams, and the circular ‘mandalas’ are familiar and pervasive images throughout the history of visual and performing arts. They are most often cosmological: that is they represent in symbol what is thought to be an essential structure of the universe. For Example, the four seasons, four directions, the planets, various divinities and man himself.
Additional Credits: folk movements for the section ‘Epilogue’ by K. Murali Mohan
Resources: ‘Pratima Kosha‘ & ‘Navagrahas’ by Professor S. K. Ramachandra Rao (Kalpatharu Research Academy, Bangalore), Ganesh Shatavadhani (Sanskrit Scholar, Bangalore),‘Sacred Geometry’, Philosophy and Practice by Robert Lawlor, ‘The Square and the Circle of the Indian Arts’ and ‘Classical Indian Dance in Literature and the Arts’ by Dr Kapila Vatsyayan
Other ‘Sacred Geometry’ performances:
August 1, 2015, Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, Hollywood, CaliforniaPresented by Rangoli Foundation for Art & Culture
Cast: Rangoli Dance Company – Anita Anand, Sheila Aula, Shivani Aysola, Vyshnavi Aysola, Alia Bartlett, Lakshmi Iyengar, Malathi Iyengar, Hema Iyer, Ritika Iyer, Deeksha Marla, Amiya Prasad, Anya Prasad, Akshaya Sekhar, Dhruv Swarna, Nishitha Viswanathan, & Anshu Voruganti.
Guest Artist – Dorcas Roman
Lighting Design: Eileen Cooley
Costume Design: Lakshmi Iyengar & Malathi Iyengar
Set Design: Suresh Iyengar
Dec 24, 2006, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mylapore, Chennai, India
Presented by Karthik Fine Arts Margazhi Festival
Cast Ranjith Babu, Neewin Hershall, Lakshmi Iyengar, L. Narendra Kumar, Anusha Narendra Kumar, Murali Mohan K., Shijith Nambiar, Kirti Ramgopal, Swarna R., Krishnakshi Sharma, Padmini Upadhya
Lighting – Murugan
August 1, 2004, Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, Berkeley, California
Cast: Rangoli Dance Company: (Malathi Iyengar’s disciples) Shivani Aysola, Alia Bartlett, Lakshmi Iyengar, Hema Iyer, Mary Khetani, & Shyamala Moorty
Dancers from India: Ranjith Babu (Kalakshetra dancer & disciple of C. V. Chandrasekhar), Praveen Kumar (disciple of Guru Narmada & C. V. Chandrasekhar), K. Murali Mohan (disciple of Dharamshi Shah & Kumudini Lakhia), Sudarsan Sibi (Kalakshetra dancer)
December 26, 2002, Hamsadhwani Festival, Chennai, India
Cast: Lakshmi Iyengar (disciple of Malathi Iyengar & Guru Narmada),Los Angeles, USA)
From Chennai: G. Narendra, Renjith Babu, Neewin Hershall, T. B. Unnikrishnan, Deepa Narayanan, & Anusha Natarajan (Kalakshetra Dancers, disciples of Dhananjayans and C. V. Chandrashekhar)
From Bangalore: K. Murali Mohan (disciple of Kumudini Lakhia and Dharamshi Shah), Kirti Ramgopal (disciple of Padmini Ramachandran), & Padmini Upadhya (disciple of Guru Narmada)
December 24, 2002, Nadam Festival, ADA Kalamandira, Bangalore, India