Ashwini Ramaswamy is the Choreographic Associate and Director of Communications for Ragamala Dance Company. The organization was founded by her mother, Ranee Ramaswamy, and is an ode to the classical dance form of Bharatanatyam. Ragamala Dance Company keeps this form of dance alive through performances in Minnesotan and beyond.
Transcript
Intro: This is Minnesota’s Legacy: A look at the organizations and peoples who have benefitted from Minnesota’s unique Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment
Britt Aamodt: Ashwini Ramaswamy was born and raised in Minneapolis, but as a kid, she returned to India every year with her parents. And that’s where she began her study of South Indian classical dance.
Sitar music
Ashwini Ramaswamy: I am Choreographic Associate and Communications Director for Ragamala Dance Company.
Aamodt: The Minneapolis dance company was founded in 1992 by her mother Ranee Ramaswamy, the center’s artistic director.
Ramaswamy: Basically, her goal was to introduce to larger audiences outside of the Indian community the expansive nature and the very nuanced version of bharatanatyam that we learn, practice and teach.
Aamodt: They get operational and program-specific support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund to bring dance into schools and to create new works. Ragamala has toured performances around the world but Minnesota remains the dance company’s home.
Sitar and percussive music
Ramaswamy: We are so grateful to live in Minnesota, where the arts are a very prioritized part of the values of the communities here.
Aamodt: Find out more at ragamaladance.org
Outro: Minnesota’s Legacy is a production of AMPERS, with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, more at ampers dot org.