Bush Foundation: Always Seeking
Bush Fellows Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy have made the Minnesota-based Ragamala Dance Company into an international bridge builder
By Lianna Matt McLernon
September 2022
Since founding Ragamala Dance Company in 1992, artistic director Ranee Ramaswamy (BF'96) says her leadership philosophy has never changed, even as her roles fluctuated between choreographer, dance educator, cultural educator, producer and more, all highlighting the South Indian dance form Bharatanatyam. She has three main pillars: educating and sharing with the community, from beginning dancers to audiences to funders; nurturing curiosity about art and humanity; and pursuing high standards of artistic excellence. When her eldest daughter, Aparna (BF'02), joined her as co-artistic director in 2005, Aparna used the same leadership philosophy to help Ragamala enter the national stage.
“We have been very purposeful in educating, communicating, sharing and seeing that there is a place — [and] creating that place, not just taking an opportunity that already exists, but making an opportunity for ourselves,” Aparna says. “I think that is the mark of a leader. You have to believe in what it is that you’re doing.”
Photo by Steven Pisano