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.