About Us
Since co-founding Ragamala Music and Dance Theater, Ranee Ramaswamy has astounded audiences with works that expand one's perceptions of dance, cross-cultural collaboration, and spiritual meaning.
Founded in 1992 by Artistic Director/Choreographer Ranee Ramaswamy, Ragamala Music and Dance Theater is dedicated to preserving the South Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam while using it as a springboard for innovative choreography. Ragamala's vibrant classical work and pioneering cross-cultural collaborations demonstrate to diverse audiences the versatility, depth, and contemporary vitality of Bharatanatyam.
Artistic Directors Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy's choreography draws from the exquisite Pandanallur style of Bharatanatyam. Their work emphasizes the importance of preserving the classical form while bringing it into coversation with contemporary themes and diverse influences from around the world.
Ragamala has collaborated with several U.S.-based and international artists of diverse backgrounds, for example poet Robert Bly, Chinese pipa virtuoso Gao Hong, New Delhi-based sitarist Shubhendra Rao, African dance troupe Ko-Thi Dance Company, jazz musician Howard Levy, Japanese drumming ensemble Mu Daiko, former Alvin Ailey dancers Uri Sands and Toni Pierce-Sands, Western composer/vocalist Ruth MacKenzie, Deaf actor Nicole Zapko, and Bali-based Kecak artist I Dewa Putu Berata.
Ragamala's work has been presented in prestigious venues throughout the world, including the Miao-Li International Mask Festival in Taiwan, the Open Look Contemporary Dance Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Leid Center of Kansas in Lawrence, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. The company also performs annually at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and O'Shaughnessy Auditorium in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 2004, Ranee Ramaswamy's global collaborative work, Sethu (Bridge) was commissioned by the internationally renowned Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Most recently, by special invitation from the Bali Government Culture Office, Ragamala presented two performances of Sethu to overflowing audiences at the Bali Arts Festival in Indonesia.
