by Lauren Heist
South Florida Sun Sentinel Staff Writer
January, 2003
Unlike other ethnic dance troupes, the Minneapolis-based Ragamala Music and Dance Theater is trying to do more than keep the 2000-year-old tradition of Indian dance alive. They take the basic building blocks of Indian dance and combine them with Japanese drumming, African chant, Chinese poetry, Western ballet and modern costumes to elevate Indian dance from folk art to high art.
This grand international vision comes from Ranee Ramaswamy, the company's founder and artistic center. A 50-year-old mother--her daughters Aparna, 27, and Ashwini, 21, are members of the company--Ramaswamy choreographs many of the pieces and dances almost all of them, barely breaking a sweat.
Ramaswamy has taught Indian dance in the Twin Cities since 1978, and she has trained all of Ragamala's dancers, most of whom are non-Indians, in the intricate and complex style of Bharatanatyam.
Even through Ramaswamy may be trying to prove that Indian dance should be a respected art, she also seems to understand that you have to master the rules before you can break them.
In the beginning of Friday night's show at Palm Beach Community College's Duncan Theatre in Lake Worth, the dancers stayed within the boundaries of traditional Indian dance.
They opened with an homage to creation of the universe, followed by a story of the Lord Shiva and ancient dances performed only for entertainment. The dancers wore colorful Indian pantsuits and bangles on their ankles, and their fingers and feet were painted red to accentuate their movements.
Each piece was surprisingly lively; the dancers stamped their feet, moved their hands gracefully and coyly darted their eyes back and forth.
But it was in the second half that the company showed what it's really all about.
In one of the most innovative pieces of the evening, Ramaswamy performed a series of hand movements set to the words of translated Chinese poems. Wearing a simple maroon dress, she stood onstage alone, using traditional Indian movement to pantomime the words to the stark, spiritual poetry.
In another bold break from convention, Aparna Ramaswamy and Uri Sands, a former member of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, danced to music by Johann Sebastian Bach. Aparna maintained the sharp angles and distinctive elongated fingers of her Indian background, while Sands pointed her toes and glided like a professional ballerina.
After the show, audience members stayed to ask questions of the dancers. They wanted to know why the dancers painted their hands red, and how they stamped their feet. For many, it was their first introduction to Indian dance, and if Ramaswamy's vision came true, they now know Indian dance cna be as diverse as the world as a whole.
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