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Children of Dharma

World Premiere: November 2, 2024

 
 

Children of Dharma explores life - forever sprouting, transforming, dissolving, and renewing - through three characters from the Hindu epic The Mahabharata; these myths reveal the power of ancient cultures to reaffirm humanity’s relationship with nature and the sacred.
Co-created by Aparna Ramaswamy, Ranee Ramaswamy, and Ashwini Ramaswamy, Children of Dharma centers South Indian embodied rituals in the immigrant experience—upholding dance as a spiritual practice that can inspire, heal, and transform.

Children of Dharma is commissioned by Northrop at The University of Minnesota, the Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center at Auburn University, and The Joyce Theater Foundation's Stephen and Cathy Weinroth Fund for New Work, with additional support by the National Endowment for the Arts, the MAP Fund, New Music USA’s Organization Fund (with support in part from Fifth House Ensemble and legacy contributions to the New Music USA endowment), the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundations, the City of St. Paul Cultural Sales Tax  Revitalization Program, the Bob and Kathie Goodale Legacy Foundation, The Dr. Dash Foundation, whose mission is to preserve and promote the rich heritage and culture of India, the Fredrikson & Byron Foundation, and the Ramaswamys' residential fellowships at the Bogliasco Foundation in Genoa, Italy and the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France.

We also thank our Dharma Circle:

 Joan and Rick Ahmann, Marguerite Ahmann and Carey Jeremiason, Andrew and Peggy Baker, Brett Egan, The J.L. Enquist Family Fund, Fay and Steve Finn, Ram and Neena Gada, Thomas and Cindy Gerst, Jeanine and Zach Holden, Donna Kasbohm, Fred and Kay Lazaro, Jai and Jon Maier, Emily Maltz and Jean-Michel Artigaud, Bridget and Tom Mayer, Nithya and Veeresh Mathad, David McKay and Ranee Ramaswamy, María and Mark Nadel, Godan and Savithry Nambudiripad, Lisa Norton, Venkat and Carla Prakash, Louise Robinson and Neal Cuthbert, Beth and Matt Spohn, Irene Suddard, John and Blythe Riske, Martin Riske, Rakesh Satyal and John Maas, Shanti Shah and Stefan Peterson, Sheila and Sanjay Terakanambi, Rachel Traver, Gregory Vilmo, James Wilkinson and Karen Covington, Sara Daggett and Bryan Zeigler, and Anonymous.

 
Photo Credit_ Luis Luque (1).jpg
 

Sacred Earth

“Ragamala imbues the South Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam with a thoroughly contemporary exuberance.” - Dance Magazine

 
 

Sacred Earth explores the interconnectedness between human emotions and the environment that shapes them. Performed with a stellar musical ensemble from India, the dancers create a sacred space to honor the divinity in the natural world and the sustenance we derive from it. Inspired by the philosophies behind the ephemeral arts of kolam and Warli painting, and the Tamil Sangam literature of India, Sacred Earth is Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy’s singular vision of the beautiful, fragile relationship between nature and man.

 
 

TOURING HISTORY (partial list)

Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival, Brookly, NY
American Dance Festival, Durham, NC
Cowles Center, Minneapolis, MN
Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont
Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
University Musical Society at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Phillips Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
The Lied Center at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
The Music Center of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
Utah Presents, Salt Lake City, UT
The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai, India
Just Festival, Edinburgh, U.K.

 
 

Support for the creation of Sacred Earth was made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts (with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and additional funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Community Connections Fund of the MetLife Foundation, and the Boeing Company Charitable Trust), and generous support from members of Ragamala’s Rasika Circle.