Latest news with #ChildrenofDharma
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Afternoon Briefing: Naperville council candidate claims endorsements he didn't get
Good afternoon, Chicago. Last week, Naperville City Council candidate Nag Jaiswal took to Facebook to proudly announce the endorsements he said he received from U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, of Schaumburg, and Danny Davis, of Chicago. 'The endorsement from respected Democratic leaders reflects my steadfast commitment to honest government,' the announcement read. Except, neither Davis nor Krishnamoorthi has endorsed Jaiswal. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History Would-be reformers are firing back against Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration, arguing ethics changes targeting the city's Law Department can move forward. Read more here. More top news stories: Andrew Boutros, a former fed and 'go-getter' on cusp of being named interim U.S. attorney in Chicago Indiana tollway bill amended out of committee, but tolling language remains in the bill As Gary and Hobart await Lake County Commissioners' decision on convention center proposals, Hard Rock Casino has made an initial investment of $50,000 into television and digital advertisements. Read more here. More top business stories: Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Juwan Howard sells Near South Side home for $875,000 Tax season is a prime time for scams. IRS uncertainty could add to the issues this year Illinois must figure out which players on the current roster are staying — and which new players could replace those who departed. Underwood said he already had been making informational calls over the weekend in Milwaukee. Read more here. More top sports stories: Chicago Blackhawks shelve Jason Dickinson for the rest of the season with a wrist injury How are Chicago Bulls' Coby White and Josh Giddey getting to the FT line? It's all about technique — and maybe hair. Chicago Symphony clarinetist John Bruce Yeh was about to perform when a draft swept the sheet music off one of his eight — yes, eight — music stands. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: Review: Ragamala Dance Company's 'Children of Dharma' lays bare the sacrifices of war — with oneself 'Ghost hunters' of the future: NWI Paracon 2025 continues momentum President Donald Trump's plans to send representatives to Greenland this week have angered political leaders on the island territory, who see the group's visit as an aggressive escalation of his threats to seize the area, by force if necessary. Read more here. More top stories from around the world: Exposure of Trump administration war plans is 'mind-boggling,' top Democrat tells intel officials What is Signal, the chat app used by US officials to share attack plans?
Chicago Tribune
22-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Review: Ragamala Dance Company's ‘Children of Dharma' lays bare the sacrifices of war — with oneself
Ragamala Dance Company of Minneapolis returned to the Harris Theater this week for the third time, bringing their latest production, 'Children of Dharma,' for one performance only on Friday. It's gorgeous, though 'Children of Dharma' isn't quite as opulent as 'Written on Water' or 'Fires of Varanasi,' performed for Ragamala's first and second visits to the Harris in 2019 and 2021. 'Children of Dharma' is a bit more restrained without going so far as to feel minimalistic. And unlike those other two, this 90-minute work, which premiered last year, draws directly from sacred texts, leaning on the 'Mahabharata' as inspiration for original dance, music and poetry which seem to detail the life cycle — birth and death — and what we do with the space between them. At its core, the 'Mahabharata' is about the struggle for power, with two warring families battling for the throne. But it's also about the sacrifices and compromises one makes — a war with oneself, so to speak, in blind pursuit of that power. 'Children of Dharma's' three sections are divided by location: the forest, the court and the battlefield, demarcated by stunning projections from frequent Ragamala collaborator Willy Cessa, whose remarkable lighting makes up for the piece's relatively sparse scenic design. The piece opens in silhouette, a single dancer, Garrett Sour, carefully posed as a guttural throat sound booms through the Harris' cavernous auditorium. Then, a voice: 'Dharma — the basis for life — forever sprouting, transforming, dissolving and renewing,' says a voiceover by Leon Conrad. It's fitting for this time of year, isn't it? The irises are beginning to sprout through still-frozen ground, doggedly determined to usher in spring. They're teasing, of course, but that perennial optimism is a perpetual, annual reminder of brighter days ahead. Sour, bare chested and wearing only peachy shalwar pants and a garnet string around his neck, is soon joined by an ensemble of five women, traditionally dressed for the classical Indian dance form Bharatanatyam. They wear fanned skirts and cap-sleeved tops (by costumer D. S. Aiyellu) hued in summery gold, orange and red. Unlike Sour, the wear ankle bells to accentuate spritely footwork. Indeed, the group appears to almost frolic through their proverbial forest, weaving geometric patterns through one another and among white fabric panels which give depth to Cessa's projections. These also provide chances to appear and disappear while still on stage, as though playing hide-and-seek in a woodland. Sour's idiosyncratic style and intentional separation from the group allow him to stand out in this section. He's more a pied piper than a protagonist, playing an invisible flute and guiding his fellow nymphs in slow, meditative patterning scattered among the more playful moments. If there's a hero in this story, it's Krishna, the spirit of the natural world embodied by Ashwini Ramaswamy near the end of this section. She oscillates between care and concern, miming the flora and fauna of the forest and an apparent storm beginning to brew. Thunderclaps shiver through Ramaswamy's hands as percussive tabla dodges in and out of the score. She cowers, covering her ears, seeming to foreshadow destruction and chaos ahead. As the setting shifts to projections of stone idols indicating a move to the royal court, Ramaswamy is joined by her sister, Arpana, for a gorgeous, protracted duet. It begins as joyous exaltation, with arms unabashedly thrust skyward. A new character, Draupati, is introduced here, described as the manifestation of Mother Earth and responsible for maintaining balance between the five elements — fire, water, air, etc. I'm not convinced she suceeds. Humans are flawed, after all, and Arpana appears to more easily yield to her desires for materialistic pleasure. Even as the two sisters dance in unison, Ashwini appears more pragmatic and austere while Arpana loses herself in a kind of rapturous revelry. Ashwini mimes a rope over her shoulder, leaning away from her sister as if literally yanking her away from temptation. It's an extraordinary tension, made perfect by this intergenerational company who builds exquisite, contemporary worlds with Bharatanatyam better than any American company I've seen. Ranee Ramaswamy, their mother, appears in the third section as Gandari, a grieving mother who feels the weight and complicity of her children's selfish thirst for power. That's the fictional allegory on stage, though it's hard to ignore contemporary layers of meaning. Ranee Ramaswamy, now in her 70s, has far more than a cameo in 'Children of Dharma.' Though her choreography is more measured than that of her daughters or the ensemble, her striking presence is felt all the way to the back row of the Harris Theater. The message, transmitted close to the audience as dancers Jessica Fiala and Tamara Nadel mime a slow-motion, rolling of dice, is crystal clear: There are consequences to gambling with karma.
