“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.” --Camille LeFevre, Minneapolis Star Tribune 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 whileusing itas 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 classicalform while bringing it into conversation 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. Ragamala's strong commitment to the community is reflected in its highly popular educational outreach programs. The company has gained a national reputation for its work with K-12 schools, colleges and universities, museums, senior citizen's homes, and commuinity centers. Ragamala's dance school in Minneapolis offers students of all levels the opportunity to study Bharatanatyam under the guidance of Ragamala company dancers. Ragamala’s work is made possible in part with funds provided by the Japan Foundation through the Performing Arts Japan Program, the Doris Duke Fund for Dance of the National Dance Project (a program administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, JP Morgan Chase Foundation and MetLife Foundation), the American Composers' Forum with Funds provided by the Jerome Foundation, Meet the Composer's Global Connections, Target, the General Mills Foundation, the Pentair Foundation, the Travelers’ Foundation, the Fredrikson & Byron Foundation, the RBC Dain Rauscher Foundation, the General Mills Foundation through the “Celebrating Communities of Color” program, the Travelers’ Arts & Diversity Employee Committee, the Rockwell Collins Matching Gift Program, Barclays Global Investors Matching Gift Program, the Ameriprise Financial Matching Gift Program, Medtronic Volunteer Match Program, the Jerome Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, the Winston R. and Maxine K. Wallin Fund of the Saint Paul Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MRAC) from an appropriation by the Minnesota Legislature, and Friends of Ragamala.