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Performed by six different Southern California dance troupes, The International Ramayana Festival presents the traditional Indian epic story of Ramayana as part of the CSU Summer Arts.
"The Ramayana is a very old and well-known folktale," Jim Spalding, CSU Summer Arts interim director said. "The story will be performed in segments, and each segment will be done by one of the different dance companies."
The Ramayana dance festival was first initiated three years ago by Sophiline Cheam Shapiro, dance instructor and artistic director of Danse Celeste. The festival is moderated by Dr. Terry Liu, folk arts coordinator of the Public Corporation for the Arts, and partly supported from the National Endowment for the Arts.
For this year's Ramayana festival Cheam has invited three dance companies from India and one from each of these Asian countries: Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand.
The purpose of the Ramayana "is to bring communities together," Cheam said. "It's rare for Cambodians, Indonesians, Indians and Thais to come together."
By organizing the Ramayana dance festival, Cheam will bring these people together and offer a dance concert to anyone interested in South and Southeast cultures.
The Ramayana is a classic 3,000 year old epic tale of Hinduism, telling a story about Prince Rama of Ayodhya and his wife Sita. Sita is kidnapped by the demon king Ravanna, who has 10 heads and 20 arms, Cheam said. In order to rescue his wife, Prince Rama builds a bridge across the ocean with help from a military army. The 25,000 verse story ends when the prince crosses the bridge and finally gets his wife, Cheam said.
The participating dance ensembles include Ramaa Bharadvaj and the Angahara Ensemble performing Bharata Natyam of India, Burat Wangi Indonesian Music and Dance Company performing the dance of Java and Bali, Danse Celeste performing Cambodian classical dance, Kerala Dance Theater performing Khatakali of India and the dance company of the Thai Community Arts and Cultural Center.
Cheam is a dance instructor who teaches Cambodian classical dance at different locations in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Van Nuys. Her own dance group Danse Celeste will be part of the about 2 1/2 hours long concert. The concert will take place on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center.
Another purpose of the Ramayana dance festival is to bring the audience together to share different cultures with each other, Cheam said. "It is a rare opportunity for artists to get together, but by organizing this, the get-together will happen."
In addition to The International Ramayana Dance Festival, two other dance performances are part of the CSU Summer Arts, Spalding said. On Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Carpenter Center, Robert Henry Johnson Dance Company and Midnight Voices will perform. Next is a presentation by Bebe Miller Company titled "Going to the Wall," on stage on July 24.
In conjunction with these performances, two dance workshops are offered for a semester worth of college credits, Spalding said. "They are coordinated by the faculty throughout the CSU system and the actual teachers are professionals; people who work in the industry will come here and do the actual teaching."
The first two-week-long class started on June 28 and continues through July 11. This is a dance class focusing on rap and hip-hop titled "Dance, Music and Rap: The Urban Lifestyle of Generation X."
July 12 through July 25, a technique course called "Going to the Wall: Explorations in Race, Class and Personal Identity," is offered.