By: Shane Bagot, Follow South Jersey Community Journalist
GLASSBORO, NJ – From Minneapolis, mother and daughter Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy will bring their culture to Rowan University for the “Sacred Earth” performance presented by their Ragamala Dance Company on January 31, 2026, from 7:30 to 9:30 at Pfleeger Concert Hall.
Created in 2008, “Scared Earth” is based on ancient poetry about five different landscapes in ancient India where people lived, how the people were affected by the landscape, and how the landscape was affected by them.
The origins of the dance company go back to Ranee Ramaswamy’s childhood in Southeast India. Growing up, she was exposed to Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form that is known mostly for storytelling, complex footwork, and a rich cultural heritage. This dance form she learned and loved.
Once she moved from India to Minneapolis at 26, Ranee was asked to perform at a Diwali function, being exposed to it again for the first time since 17. She immediately fell in love with it again and got back into studying the dance form. Now having her daughters by her side, learning with her from teacher Alarmel Valli, whom she first saw perform in 1983 at the University of Minnesota.
“My daughter and I watched it, and we were just blown away by the complexity, the beauty, the technique of her dance. See, what I had studied was just someone in the neighborhood who taught. So even though it fed my joy at that, it wasn’t worth anything to start a profession, but this teacher has traveled the world,” said Ranee Ramaswamy.
In 1992, Ranee Ramaswamy founded Ragamala Dance Company alongside her daughters, Aparna and Ashwini, making it a trio later on. Ranee Ramaswamy is now co-artistic director, Aparna Ramaswamy is executive artistic director, and Ashwini Ramaswamy is the choreographic associate.
“Sacred Earth” takes those five different poems and combines them with two works of visual art that have become philosophically and visually involved with the performance.
One example is the Kolam rice flour ritual that finds women making floor drawings with rice flour in front of their homes, welcoming the goddess of prosperity. Another is the Warli paintings that is done on the wall to offer thanks to the goddess of prosperity.
“It shows agriculture, it shows dancing, it shows community, it shows a person climbing up a tree to pluck coconuts. Every moment of everyday life is represented in these paintings. We used that as part of that because it was so similar to the poetry,” said Ranee Ramaswamy.
To help bring their vision more to life, they have collaborated with an artist from India, Anil Chaitya Vangad. Vangad has made paintings and five landscapes into large-scale projections to go along with them.
One of the key ideas behind this performance is the relationship between man and nature. It is all brought together by emotions. For Ranee Ramaswamy, emotions never get old.
“This is how nature and humans are connected, that you are not alone. Everything that you feel also has nature involved in it,” said Ranee Ramaswamy.
The relationship between the dancers and the audience is very important. There is a communication happening that Ranee Ramaswamy and the performers stress the importance of getting right.
“The work in itself has emotions flowing from the top to the end of the show. All of us communicate with the audience continuously through facial expressions. So it’s not something that the dancers dance for themselves, we are trained that we never let the audience blank. We are constantly communicating with them through our eyes and our expressions,” said Ranee Ramaswamy.
For Ranee Ramaswamy and the performers, there are two words they always keep in mind for their performances. It is an important part of Indian classical dance. First is Bhava, the emotions and expressions that they put into it. Second is Rasa, what the audience feels. They do their best to put in and bring out as many emotions as possible.
To read more about the program, click here. To find out more information about the Ragamala Dance Company, click here.
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