Ragamala Dance Company to Celebrate Thirty Years With The Wallace Foundation's New Arts Initiative
Through both intimate solos and large-scale theatrical works for the stage, Ragamala empowers the South Asian American experience.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Jul. 20, 2022
On July 31, 2022, Ragamala Dance Company celebrates thirty years of activating art as citizenship. To honor this milestone, they were selected to participate in The Wallace Foundation's new, five-year arts initiative focused on arts organizations of color, to foster equitable improvements in the arts.
Through this initiative, Artistic Directors Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy will prioritize equity through shared humanity - from thoughtfully researched performance projects to rigorous educational programs; from connecting communities across perceived boundaries to serving as an incubator for South Asian artists. Join Ragamala as they turn 30 and embark on this ambitious, exhilarating opportunity for seismic growth. Help Ragamala reach their goal of raising $25,000 by July 31, 2022. Gifts of any amount will make all the difference. To donate, visit https://secure.givelively.org/donate/ragamala-dance/ragamala-turns-30.
Each year, Ragamala's efforts to empower the South Asian American experience deepen. Even throughout the pandemic, Ragamala welcomed 102,733 virtual audience members. With the return to live programming, Ragamala has had 9,168 in-person audience members. In response to recent performances at the American Dance Festival, an audience member said, "Thank you for what you are doing to put the spotlight on our dance tradition to make it an equal player in the cultural landscape of this country."
About Ragamala Dance Company
Ragamala Dance Company is the vision of award-winning mother/daughter artists Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy. Over the last four decades, Ranee and Aparna's practice in the South Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam has shifted the trajectory of culturally rooted performing arts in the United States to create an exemplary company within the American dance landscape. Through both intimate solos and large-scale theatrical works for the stage, Ranee and Aparna empower the South Asian American experience. By engaging the dynamic tension between ancestral wisdom and creative freedom, they reveal the kindred relationship between ancient and contemporary that is urgently needed in today's world. Featuring Aparna Ramaswamy as Principal Dancer, Ragamala has been commissioned and presented extensively throughout the U.S., India, and abroad, highlighted by the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Joyce Theater (New York), Lincoln Center (New York), Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival (MA), Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), American Dance Festival (Durham, NC), The Soraya (Southern California), Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, International Festival of Arts & Ideas (New Haven, CT), Cal Performances (Berkeley), Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Just Festival (Edinburgh, U.K.), Bali Arts Festival (Indonesia), Sri Krishna Gana Sabha (Chennai, India), and National Centre for Performing Arts (Mumbai, India), among others. ragamaladance.org.
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