Ragamala Dance Company is an independent dance company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1992 by Ranee Ramaswamy and David Whetstone. Ragamala collaborates with national and international artists of various disciplines. Their performances take place locally in Minneapolis, on national tours around the United States, in India, Europe, and other locations.
History
Ranee Ramaswamy was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, and was raised in the Hindu tradition there. Ragamala combines the ancient dance form of Bharatanatyam with contemporary aesthetics via collaboration. Ragamala's dance technique was honed within the teachings of Alarmel Valli, which emphasizes rhythm and expression. Their first production was at Great American History Theater with sitarist-composer David Whetstone, in January of 1994. The performance was structured around stated lines of poetry, and drumming of the tabla, to which Ranee Ramaswamy, Aparana Ramaswamy and the other dancers performed "ragas" or units of movement related to those lines of poetry. Whetstone read the poetry and explained the dance in that initial performance Ranee Ramaswamy translated the pure Bharatanatyam dance into something western audiences could more easily appreciate by collaborating with other artists and other art forms, deftly sifting experimental approaches into that ancient dance discipline. The company puts together funding for specific collaborative works from a variety of sources including commissions and grants with collaborative partners including Walker Art Center, Theater Mu, the Miami UniversityPerforming Arts Series, Arts Midwest, National Endowment for the Arts, McKnight Foundation, Bush Foundation, General Mills Foundation, Land O'Lakes Foundation and others.
Works
Ranee Ramaswamy and her daughter, Aparna Ramaswamy are artistic directors as well as principal dancers of the company. The choreography of Ragamala is rooted in the southIndian classical dance style of Bharatanatyam. Ragamala's works include intercultural, collaborative pieces that incorporate other dance forms including sign language, Jazz, Japanese Drumming and Poetry. Other members of the company include Ashwini Ramaswamy, Tamara Nadel and Jessica Fiala. One of Ragamala's recent works includes “Written in Water" which is based on Paramapadam, the original game that 'Snakes and Ladders' is based on; and a Sufi poem about enlightenment called The Conference of the Birds, from the 12th-century.
