Ithaca College

An introductory symposium examining how the theory, practice and performance of rasa, a Sanskrit word referring to the expression and reception of emotion in performance, is used in traditional and contemporary music, dance and theatre, in performer training and in other contexts. All events are free and open to the public, no registration needed.  

Please visit www.rasaboxes.org for a full schedule and more information.

Rasa: In Theory, Practice and Performance Symposium - March 31-April 1, 2012

Rasa In Theory: Lecture and Discussion

Saturday, March 31, 2012 - 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.- Lectures on Rasa

Room 006, Dillingham Theatre Building, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY

Sanskrit, anthropology, music, dance and theatre scholars and practitioners will discuss rasa and how it is used in their research, practice or related areas of interest.

Schedule:

9:15 a.m. Coffee Gathering

• 10:00 a.m. Welcome by Lindsay Gilmour, Department of Theatre Arts, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY
• 10:05 a.m. Larry McCrea, Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY: "Rasa as Meaning: The Semantics of Emotional Response in Traditional Indian Dramatic and Poetic Theory"
• 11:00 a.m. Ursula Neuerburg-Denzer, Department of Theatre Arts, Concordia, Montreal: "High Emotion: Exploring Euripides’ Hippolytus and Sarah Kane’s Phaedra’s Love through Rasabox Exercises"
• 11:45 a.m. Durga Bor, South Asia Program, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY: "Rasa Theory from the Abhinayadarpanam and the Natyasastra Interpreted through Indian Dance"

12:30 p.m. Lunch Break

• 2:00 p.m. Denise Nuttall, Department of Anthropology, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY: "Rhythm and Rhymes, Rasas and Rasikas: On the Intimate Relation between Rasa, Tala, Laya and Hindustani Tabla Performance"
• 2:45 p.m. Michele Minnick, Department of Theatre Arts, Towson University, Baltimore, MD: "Rasa as the Basis for Ensemble Training, Character Development and Choreography: Staging Euripides' The Bacchae with Undergraduate Theatre Students"
• 3:30 p.m. Marc Benamou, Music Department, Earlham College, Richmond, IN: "The Taste of Music: Rasa in Javanese Musical Discourse"
• 4:15 p.m. Wrap Up Round Table session with presenters moderated by Paula Murray Cole, Department of Theatre Arts, Ithaca College

5:00 p.m. End

Rasa in Practice: Performance Workshops

Sunday, April 1st, 2012 - 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Studio 1, Dillingham Theatre Building, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY

The rasa workshops will introduce participants to training techniques or various ways of working with the aesthetics of rasa in music, theatre and dance.

Schedule:

• 10:00 a.m – 12 noon Rasaboxes Workshop with Paula Murray Cole, Michele Minnick, and Ursula Neuerburg-Denzer
• 12:10 – 1 p.m. Rasa Expression through Mudra with Durga Bor
• 1:10 p.m. – 2 p.m. Rasa Expression in Contemporary Dance with Lindsay Gilmour
• 2:10 p.m. – 3 p.m. "Listening for Rasa in Javanese Gamelan and Vocal Music" with Marc Benamou

Rasa in Performance: Theatre, Dance and Music Compositions

Sunday, April 1st, 2012 - 7:30 p.m.

Barnes Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca NY

A presentation and discussion of traditional and contemporary dance, theatre and music compositions based on theories and practices sourcing on rasa.

Directors, performers and musicians include Freddy Villano, Jonathan Smythe, Lindsay Gilmour, Chris Seeds, Keir Neuringer, Durga Bor, Max Buckholtz, Nikolai Ruskin, Paula Murray Cole and students from Ithaca College.

These events are made possible by funding from the South Asia Program at Cornell University, Cornell Council for the Arts, The Rose Goldsen Fund, The Society for the Humanities and The Martin Fellows Hatch Fund; and grants from the Theatre Arts Department and The School of Humanities and Sciences at Ithaca College.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Paula Murray Cole, Theatre Arts, Ithaca College at pcole@ithaca.edu. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.