The New Yorker - Goings on About Town

Marina Harss
Original Article

Indian classical dance has increasingly become an art of the diaspora, with practitioners based in every corner of the world. This exponential growth has only added to the vitality of these ancient dance forms, as choreographers imagine new stories to join the already rich repertory. Ragamala Dance, based in Minneapolis, is a shining example of this expansion. The evening-length “Fires of Varanasi” (at the Joyce, Sept. 22-26)—created by the mother-daughter team of Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy, who perform along with an ensemble of nine dancers—uses the language of bharata natyam to explore the cycle of life and death as understood in Hinduism, and as experienced by immigrants.