April 24 2020
Dear friend,
This year, Earth Day arrived at a time when the planet has urged us to take a pause - to truly reflect upon how we can preserve what we still have and generate new ideas for the future.
As practitioners of an ancient tradition that has evolved over thousands of years, we are well versed in maintaining this balance between preservation and generation. This week, we offer you preservation through poetry, practice, and... primates! We hope you are coping well and that you are able to move through the world as though every day is Earth Day.
Until next week, please stay safe and healthy,
Ranee, Aparna, Ashwini, and
the Ragamala staff
EXPERIENCE
How we connect dance with the natural world
April 22nd was Earth Day, and April is National Poetry Month. In gratitude to both poetry and planet, we created a visual ode to Rabindranath Tagore's poem 'Stream of Life.'
Tagore’s love of nature was profound, and he believed that " nature [is] the greatest of all teachers."
We hope that all of us can Make Every Day Earth Day.
"As we continue to shelter at home, we can turn to our practice as a way to bring joy into our lives. I am working on my piece, 'Ishvara,' which explores nature as an extension of the divine--at no point in the cosmos does nature end and the Divine begin. Poems about nature become metaphors to express deep longing, desire, and ecstasy for the divine, and where clouds, birds, groves all act as urgent messengers to persuade the divine to come quickly." -- Co-Artistic Director Aparna Ramaswamy
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ENGAGE
Minnpost interview: 'We have more dreams to achieve'
"Now in its 28th year, Ragamala Dance Company is small but mighty, family-run and internationally acclaimed. Practitioners of a 2,000-year-old South Indian dance form called Bharatanatyam, founder Ranee Ramaswamy, her two daughters, Aparna and Ashwini, and company dancers Tamara Nadel and Jessica Fiala are golden threads in the tapestry of our arts scene." - Minnpost
In an interview with Minnpost's Pamela Espelande, Choreographic Associate Ashwini Ramaswamy discusses preserving Ragamala's trajectory while devising new ways to work through the pandemic.
EXPLORE
At Ragamala, we are continually inspired by strong, pioneering women who not only change the conversation but also forge a path for the next generation.
This week, we recommend BBC America's Earth Day 50th Anniversary event 'Wonderstruck,' featuring the new documentary She Walks With Apes. “As a kid, I was really desperate to find strong women role models that I could look up to,” Iulia Badescu, a Canadian primatologist, says in this documentary. She went through a Joan of Arc phase, and a Queen Elizabeth I phase. And then she found Jane Goodall.
The documentary looks at the legacies of Goodall, Dian Fossey and Birute Galdikas, three women who found fame doing groundbreaking primatology work in the 20th century. It explores the influence of their studies on three younger researchers, including Badescu. The documentary is narrated by the actress Sandra Oh.
We would love to stay connected with you: please let us know your reactions to the videos, article, and recipe we have shared this week by commenting on this post or posting on our Facebook page.
As we all navigate this strange and uncertain time, we know that many organizations could use your support. If you are able, please consider supporting Ragamala so we may continue to provide artistic experiences that move and connect us all long into the future.