The American Dance Platform and The Joyce Theater Present Ragamala's 'Kírana'

The Sanskrit word kírana conjures the rays of the sun and the moon, which reveal the sky of consciousness, illumine every direction, and can unravel the metaphysical universe. Bharatanatyam ensemble Ragamala Dance Company re-imagines Kírana as the cosmic light that conceals and liberates, obscures and enlightens. The first Ragamala work to be choreographed by three company members (mother and daughters Ranee, Aparna, and Ashwini Ramaswamy), Kírana explores the essential aspects of all matter -- darkness, energy, and equilibrium.

About Ragamala Dance Company

Under the direction of Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy, Ragamala Dance Company's work explores the dynamic tension between the ancestral and the personal. As choreographers and performers, Ranee and Aparna create dance landscapes that dwell in opposition - secular and spiritual life, inner and outer worlds, human and natural concerns, rhythm and stillness - to find the transcendence that lies in between. As mother and daughter, each brings her generational experience to the work - the rich traditions, deep philosophical roots, and ancestral wisdom of India meeting and merging with their hybridic perspective as Indian-American artists.
About the American Dance Platform
Now in its second year, the American Dance Platform initiative continues to showcase some the most captivating American companies performing today. This year's festival, curated by Alicia B. Adams, VP of International Programming and Dance at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, features an eclectic roster of artists, including Dusan Tynek Dance Theatre, RAWdance, Ragamala Dance Company, Company | E, Lucky Plush Productions, Davalois Fearon Dance, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, and CONTRA-TIEMPO, with each of the eight companies performing twice throughout a week of double bills.

The creation of Kírana is supported in part by the Doris Duke Performing Artists Awards program and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The music for Kírana is commissioned by the Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation.

Ashwini Ramaswamy photographed by Ed Bock

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