Ragamala Dance Company

Ragamala Dance Company, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a renowned institution founded by the mother-daughter team of Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy. The company is dedicated to preserving and evolving the Bharatanatyam style, treating it as a living language. Their performances have been praised by The New York Times for their devotion and clarity.

Through the Ragamala Training Center, students of all ages are immersed in South Indian arts and culture, instilling confidence, discipline, and providing strong female role models. The company offers educational sessions, live-streamed demonstrations, dance classes, and lectures on cultural hybridity and the South Asian experience.

Ragamala Dance Company also engages in community outreach programs to demystify the cultural roots of their work and connect audiences of all backgrounds to Indian heritage. Their original dance works explore the myth and spirituality of their Indian heritage while addressing the immigrant experience of preserving tradition in new circumstances.

Supporting Ragamala Dance Company means contributing to the creation of new work, sustaining their school, and ensuring a future for this art form and its artists. Celebrate the artists and trailblazers at Ragamala, and help demonstrate the power of the arts to forge connections across cultural boundaries. Contact laurac@elsieman.org or annaa@elsieman.org for more information.