Described by The New York Times as “thrillingly three-dimensional… rapturous and profound,” APARNA RAMASWAMY (Co-Creator/Choreographer/Principal Dancer) is a dancemaker and performer whose work reveres the artistic, philosophical, and intellectual depths of her artistic lineage, evolving ancestral and cultural knowledge in the diaspora as a catalyst for contemporary human thought. She is the life-long disciple of legendary dancer/choreographer Padmabhushan Smt. Alarmél Valli, one of India’s greatest living masters.
As Executive Artistic Director of Ragamala Dance Company, Aparna has catalyzed a bold new vision for Bharatanatyam in the diaspora, charting new paths for South Asian dance in the U.S. Her work has been commissioned and presented by major festivals and cultural institutions—including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Joyce Theater, Harris Theater, Northrop, American Dance Festival, Silk Road Ensemble, Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi, and many others—and supported by the National Dance Project, MAP Fund, Wallace Foundation, Joyce Foundation, and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, among others. Aparna’s Fires of Varanasi: Dance of the Eternal Pilgrim (created in collaboration with Ranee Ramaswamy) was commissioned to open the Kennedy Center’s 50th Anniversary celebration with an outdoor, site-specific performance.
Aparna’s choreographic work ranges from intimate solo presentations performed with live music, to large-scale, multidisciplinary theatrical works. Her honors include a Creative Capital Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, Bogliasco Foundation Residential Fellowship (Italy), Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Research Fellowship (Italy), Joyce Award, four McKnight Fellowships for Dance and Choreography, a Bush Fellowship, and a Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from Carleton College, among others.
Hailed by The New York Times as “a master of abhinaya… her careful art glimmers with the strangeness of the divine,” RANEE RAMASWAMY (Co-Creator/Choreographer/Principal Dancer) is the Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Ragamala Dance Company. Ranee serves on the National Council on the Arts, appointed in 2011 by President Barack Obama.
As a dancemaker, performer, and culture bearer, Ranee’s creative vision is driven by a profound commitment to the artistic lineage imparted to her through four decades of training under legendary Bharatanatyam dancer/choreographer Padmabhushan Smt. Alarmél Valli, intertwined with a pioneering spirit of innovation and collaboration across culture and discipline. Since immigrating to the U.S. in 1978, Ranee has been a trailblazer, working tirelessly to create a place for her culturally rooted choreographic work on the major stages of the U.S. dance landscape.
Ranee's work has been commissioned and presented by the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Joyce Theater, Northrop, Walker Art Center, American Dance Festival, International Festival of Arts & Ideas, and Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi, among many others, and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, National Dance Project, MAP Fund, Wallace Foundation, and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Ranee’s Fires of Varanasi: Dance of the Eternal Pilgrim (created in collaboration with Aparna Ramaswamy) was commissioned to open the Kennedy Center’s 50th Anniversary celebration in 2021 with an outdoor, site-specific performance. Her honors include a Creative Capital Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, Bogliasco Foundation Fellowship (Italy), Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Research Fellowship (Italy), United States Artists Fellowship, McKnight Distinguished Artist Award, Bush Choreography Fellowship, and 14 McKnight Fellowships for Choreography and Interdisciplinary Art, among many others. Ranee serves on the board of Directors of Dance Teacher Magazine.
ASHWINI RAMASWAMY (Choreographic Associate/Principal Dancer) has spent over 30 years studying Bharatanatyam from award-winning artists Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy (her mother and sister), and from their guru, the legendary Padma Bhushan Smt. Alarmél Valli of Chennai, India since 2011. Her choreography has been heralded as a Critic's Pick by The New York Times for “creating space, not just for more generations but more ways of thinking” and listed among the “Best of the Year” in The Washington Post, Boston Globe, Star Tribune, Minnpost, and City Pages. Ashwini is committed to maintaining the rigor, physicality, humanity, and authenticity embedded in her Bharatanatyam lineage while forming a personal vision for collaborative, multidisciplinary performance experiences.
As a founding member of Ragamala Dance Company, she has toured extensively, performing throughout the U.S. and internationally, including The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, American Dance Festival, and the Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi. Her choreographic work has been presented by the Baryshnikov Arts Center (New York, NY), Broadstage (Santa Monica, CA), Modlin Center (Richmond, VA), The Yard (Martha's Vineyard, MA), Scottsdale Center s (Scottsdale, AZ), and The Just Festival (Edinburgh, U.K), among others.
Ashwini has received commissions from the Liquid Music Series, Great Northern Festival, Santa Monica College, Northrop, Perelman Center, JM Kohler Center, and Bates Dance Festival; residencies at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, UNC Chapel Hill, Kohler Arts Center, the National Center for Choreography, the Bogliasco Foundation (Bogliasco, Italy) and Camargo Foundation (Cassis, France); support from the National Dance Project, MAP Fund, USArtists International, National Performance Network, Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, South Asian Arts Resiliency Fund, McKnight Foundation, a Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship and a Creative Capital Award.
SMT. PREMA RAMAMURTHY (Composer) has been an outstanding vocalist and composer for more than four decades. She received intensive training under the great Maestro ‘Padmavibhushan’ Dr. Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna, specialized in the art of ‘Pallavi singing’ from Vidwan Sri T. V. Gopalakrishnan, and learned the art of singing ‘Padams & Javalis’ from the veteran musician, Mrs. T. Muktha. An A-TOP Grade Artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan TV, she has won critical acclaim as a composer, and has performed in many of the top venues and festivals of India, the U.S., Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Mexico, and South Africa.
WILLY CESSA (Lighting and Scenic Design) has worked as a director, light director, and light and set designer since 2001. In 2007, he met Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui in Paris for the project La Zon-Mai at the Cité Nationale de l’Histoire de l’Immigration. Since that time, they have collaborated on 13 projects for Cherkaoui’s Antwerp-based company Eastman. Additionally, he has worked with multiple renowned artists and institutions, including Yabin Wang, Aakash Odedra, Wang & Ramirez, Damien Jalet, Fanny de Chaillé, Herman Diephuis, Esther Aumatell, Le Centre Dramatique Régional des Pays de la Loire, Cie Les Aphoristes, Cie KLP, Danse l’Afrique Danse!, and Franck II Louise.
JESSICA FIALA (Dancer) began training with Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy in 2006 and has performed with Ragamala throughout the US and in India, the UK, and the UAE. She holds an interdisciplinary master’s degree in museum studies and cultural studies from the University of Minnesota and her research has been published in the anthology The Ruined Archive; the journals Diálogos com a arte, Public Art Journal, and the Journal of Somaesthetics; and the online publication Immerse. She is a researcher for the International Award for Public Art and recently presented on augmented reality public art for a United Nations conference on Art as a Tool in Multilateralism and Public Affairs. Outside of Ragamala, Jessica is a research associate at the consulting firm 8 Bridges Workshop.
JOTHIKA GORUR (Dancer) began training with Ranee, Aparna, and Ashwini Ramaswamy in 2024 and is a full time member of Ragamala Dance Company. She made her debut with the company during the world premiere of Children of Dharma at the Northrop (MN), and has since toured to The Joyce Theater (NY), Harris Theater Chicago (IL), and the Coppell Arts Center (TX). Additionally, Jothika is a Bharatanatyam teacher at the Ragamala Training Center. Prior to joining Ragamala, Jothika trained under Smt. Shobhitha Ravi in Pittsburgh, PA. She has won accolades at Indian cultural events in the US and has performed internationally in Bangalore (India) and Athens (Greece). Her experiences include teaching several Indian classical dance workshops and judging national level competitions for dance teams across the United States.
TAMARA NADEL (Dancer) is a disciple of Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy and a founding member of Ragamala, having performed with the company at prominent venues throughout the U.S, India, Russia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, U.K, and The Netherlands. Tamara has received grants and fellowships from the McKnight Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board, Rimon: The Minnesota Jewish Arts Council, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the Brin Fund for Jewish Arts, among others. In 2022, she was selected by the Conney Conference on Jewish Arts at UW-Madison to perform Haven’t I Hidden Your Name?, a solo choreographed for her by Ranee Ramaswamy, illuminating the synergies between Hindu and Jewish mystical traditions. Tamara is Ragamala’s Director of Operations and President of the Board of Directors of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts.
GARRETT SOUR (Dancer) is a dedicated dancer with a deep passion for both classical Cambodian dance and Bharatanatyam. He began training in Cambodian dance at six years old, learning both male (Nearong) and female (Neang) roles, and currently serves as a principal dancer with Wattanak Dance Troupe. Since 2021, Garrett has also been studying Bharatanatyam under Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy, performing with Ragamala Dance Company throughout the U.S., India, and The Netherlands.
SASKIA KERSENBOOM (Consulting Scholar) earned her PhD Nityasumangali (1984) through academic and artistic immersion in the world of devadasi performing arts in temples and royal courts of Tamil Nadu, South India. Her academic journey ran parallel with training in Bharatanatyam with Smt. Nandini Ramani (Smt. Balasaraswati Bani), Karnatik vocal and instrumental music and Classical Ballet. This background took various shapes: of Associate Professor in Cultural Anthropology, Music and Theatre Studies at University of Amsterdam, of a Bharatanatyam performing artist, teacher and choreographer, and of Guest Curator. Her fascination with Dance as a total expression of human culture drove her to question academic literacy in contrast to the scope of oral traditions. From printed and multi-medial publications to Visiting Faculty at Conservatories in The Netherlands, Poland, USA and India, Saskia has worked with the International Danstheater, ICK-Emio Greco/P.C. (Amsterdam), Kattai Kuttu Sangam (Kanchipuram), IGNCA (New Delhi) and as Guest Curator at Museum Rietberg (Zürich). In 1994 she founded Paramparai Arts www.paramparai.eu - Performing Arts of South India. Since 2012 Paramparai Foundation has initiated performances, long and short term courses in Karnatik Music and Dance – set in the villages of Legend, Hungary and Tirupugalur, Tamil Nadu, India – certified by the International Dance Council-UNESCO, Paris https://cid-world.org.
SIDDAARTH SHANMUGAM (Poetry) is a fervent admirer of human languages, particularly their artistic and expressive potential. A poet since the age of fourteen, he has mastered the intricate, ancient poetic meters born from Tamil landscapes. Drawing on this rich heritage, he has authored a book to guide aspiring poets in crafting their verses according to these time-honored traditions. Siddaarth, a practicing poet himself, actively contributes his own creative voice to the Tamil literary landscape.
He believes that human languages are powerful tools for communication, creativity, and understanding, and is grateful for the opportunities he has had to learn about different languages and cultures. He hopes to continue using his skills to promote cross-cultural understanding. Siddaarth lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and two children, and works in the software industry.
ASHA RAMESH (Lead Vocalist) is from San Jose, California, and is renowned for her mastery of Carnatic music. A disciple of Sangeeta Kalanidhi Sri. D. K. Jayaraman and Nanganallur V. Ramanathan, Asha has earned recognition through numerous awards, including the Rajaji Memorial Tambura Award, the Swaminatha Pillai Memorial Gold Medal, and the Vijayalakshmi Memorial Award for Best Vocalist from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in India. Asha is also an accomplished composer, creating music for many dance productions. She composed and performed for her album, Thenum Thinaiyum. In 2020, Asha collaborated with Rohith Jayaraman to release Manam, an album that confronts contemporary social issues. Asha founded Ragamalika School of Music in 1992 and has been a cornerstone of the San Jose Bay Area’s music community for over three decades.
ROHITH JAYARAMAN (Vocals) Born and raised in San Jose, California, Rohith is a vocalist, composer, and educator known for his soulful voice and infectious energy. Trained in Carnatic music under his mother, Asha Ramesh, Rohith has gone on to explore music from around the world, collaborating with artists in many diverse genres. Rohith has shared the stage with internationally acclaimed artists such as A.R. Rahman, Zakir Hussain, John McLaughlin, Akram Khan, Tigran Hamasyan, Hariharan, Shreya Ghoshal, Shankar Mahadevan, Clinton Cerejo, and Ranjit Barot. He is also a member of the Berklee Indian Ensemble, which received a Grammy® nomination for its 2022 debut album, Shuruaat. His latest release, Yazhiha, was an indie collaboration with Vidya Vox on her EP, Sundari, written by Madhan Karky and produced by Shankar Tucker.
PREETHY MAHESH (Vocals) is a Carnatic musician who has been accompanying eminent dancers since 2002. She owes her art to her respected gurus Sri DK Jayaraman and Sri S Kalyanaraman. A graded artist of All India Radio she has performed extensively as a soloist and has recorded multiple commercially-available albums of dance music. She has performed in some of the world’s best theaters with accomplished artists such as Priyadarsini Govind, Shobana, Padmabhushan Alarmél Valli, Revati Ramachandran, Parvati Ghantasala, The Dhananjayans, and Ragamala. In recognition of her contribution to the art, has been honored with the titles Gana Kokilam, Sangeetagna, and Nritya Sangeeta Varshini.
S. SAKTHIVEL MURUGANANTHAM (Mridangam) has been a preeminent performer on the mridangam,specializing in the accompaniment of classical dance, for 34 years. He learned traditional Gurukulavasam under the great Guru Shri Mayavaram G. Somasundaram Pillai and later under Guru Shri Bakthavatchalam, and Guru Shri M. Balachander.Mr. Sakthivel has accompanied preeminent dancers at leading festivals and theaters in India and worldwide, including Dr. Vyayanthimala Bali, Padmabhushan Alarmél Valli, Shri Leela Samson, and Priyadarshini Govind, and great gurus such as Shri K.J. Sarasa, Shri Udupi Lakshmi Narayan, and Shri Narasimhachari. His titles include Laya Vidhyadhara from Smt. Alarmel Valli’s Deepashika, Natya Sangeetha Kala Bharathi from Bharath Kalachar, Laya Kala Vipanchee from Vipanchee Trust, Laya Kala Ratna, Laya Sironmani, and Mridanga Mamani.
C.K. VASUDEVAN (Nattuvangam) is student of renowned Carnatic percussion maestro, Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr. Umayalpuram Sivaraman, and has been trained by Padma Bhushan Smt. Alarmél Valli in the art of nattuvangam. Mr. Vasudevan has provided vocal support to several renowned dancers at the major festivals and theaters of India, and in Europe, the U.S., Canada, Japan, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. He has a diploma in mridangam from the Tamil Nadu Government Music College, and is a recipient of multiple honors, including the Vaadhya Kalaimani, Laya Kala Sironmani, and Rukmani Thala Samuthiram awards and the title Laya Vidyadara.
K.P. NANDINI (Violin) is internationally renowned as a Carnatic vocalist and violinist. She is a disciple of Smt. Uma Prabhakar, and pursuing advanced training in vocal under Smt. Ranjani and Smt. Gayatri and in violin under Smt. Lalitha Raghavan. She has toured extensively throughout India, Europe, Asia, and North America, highlighted by performances in Norway, Italy, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, Canada, U.S., Singapore, and Malaysia. Ms. Nandini has received multiple prestigious awards and accolades, including the Yuva Kala Bharathi from Bharat Kalachar, the M.S. Subbulakshmi Fellowship in Music from the Bombay Shanmukhananda, the prestigious Kalavanta award from the Karnataka Fine Arts Council, and the titles Bala Kala Rathna, Kalaimamani, and Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, among others.
SRUTHI SAGAR (Flute) has earned a place for himself in the field of Carnatic Music. A disciple of Kalaimamani Dr. Sunder for more than fifteen years, he had his initial training on the Flute from Shri B. V. Balasai and his father Shri Sudarsana Rao. Sruthi Sagar has performed at prestigious venues and festivals throughout India and is a recipient of the Air India Radio first prize and other coveted awards such as Kuzhal Isai Chelvan, Yuva Kala Bharathi, and Yuva Kala Vipanchee. Since 2005, Sruthi Sagar has been a Central Government scholarship awardee, and recipient of a Young Achiever’s Scholarship conferred by the Government of India. He has performed at the Olympic Games in London as part of the STACCATO Band.
