The Liminal Museum
The Liminal Museum
Ranee, Aparna, and Ashwini Ramaswamy, Ranee Ramaswamy, Aparna Ramaswamy, Ashwini Ramaswamy
Ranee, Aparna, and Ashwini Ramaswamy, Ranee Ramaswamy, Aparna Ramaswamy, Ashwini Ramaswamy
The past is present, because it is worth remembering. The artists undertake The Liminal Museum in response to the passing of their mother/grandmother Menaka Ananthakrishnan in 2023. This project traces stories of their family as a microcosm of women in traditional societies. Menaka gave up her place in college so her brother could attend; her aunt was a virgin widow at age 11; a cousin was married and returned due to lack of dowry, ending her prospects. Menaka faced daily inequities, grounded in patriarchy. To cope, she collected keepsakes & mementos — and sketched beautifully detailed portraits. She was also the carrier of 90+ years of knowledge in music, poetry, religion, and family history. Her life—shaped by repression—showed that art is embedded in our bodies and souls and cannot be taken from us. The artists envision an intimate experience of recorded stories and personal artifacts in conversation with the Ramaswamys in live rehearsal, crystallizing how traditions are passed on, regenerated, and reinvented.
Blending installation art, oral and personal history, and Bharatanatyam dance, The Liminal Museum will provide audiences with a moving and contemplative aesthetic experience channeling the wisdom of ancient Tamil culture alongside the challenges of living in contemporary America. The Liminal Museum is a clarion call about female resilience, the necessity of ancestral knowledge, and the complexities of aging in contemporary societies.
Dance, Multimedia Performance, Performing Arts, Socially-Engaged Performance
2025
About Ranee, Aparna, and Ashwini Ramaswamy
Since 1992, Guggenheim Fellows and Doris Duke Awardees Ranee Ramaswamy (mother) and Aparna Ramaswamy (daughter) have centered ancestral wisdom, excellence, and creativity to contextualize the immigrant experience—upholding Bharatanatyam as a spiritual practice that can inspire, heal, and transform communities. Recently joined by younger daughter/sister Ashwini Ramaswamy, they challenge cultural assumptions and put culturally-rooted artists of color at the center. As South Indian-American creators and cultural carriers, they feel a substantial responsibility to honor the traditions and wisdom of their ancestors while evolving them to new circumstances. They received immersive training under the great dance artist Alarmél Valli of Chennai, India.
In performance, they are continuously and directly communicating with the audience—emotions are cultivated in real time for and with the audience. This reciprocity creates emotional renewal, and is individually & personally significant for each viewer. They aspire to transport audiences, provoking reflection on metaphysical and moral questions, fostering empathy and enriching public discourse.
Their artistry and pioneering vision have catalyzed transformative change in the field, drawing the attention and support of major cultural institutions—including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, NYU Abu Dhabi, American Dance Festival, Joyce Theater, among others and funders such as MAP Fund, NDP, Wallace Foundation, among others.
Since 1992, Guggenheim Fellows and Doris Duke Awardees Ranee Ramaswamy (mother) and Aparna Ramaswamy (daughter) have centered ancestral wisdom, excellence, and creativity to contextualize the immigrant experience—upholding Bharatanatyam as a spiritual practice that can inspire, heal, and transform communities. Recently joined by younger daughter/sister Ashwini Ramaswamy, they challenge cultural assumptions and put culturally-rooted artists of color at the center. As South Indian-American creators and cultural carriers, they feel a substantial responsibility to honor the traditions and wisdom of their ancestors while evolving them to new circumstances. They received immersive training under the great dance artist Alarmél Valli of Chennai, India. In performance, they are continuously and directly communicating with the audience—emotions are cultivated in real time for and with the audience. This reciprocity creates emotional renewal, and is individually & personally significant for each viewer. They aspire to transport audiences, provoking reflection on metaphysical and moral questions, fostering empathy and enriching public discourse. Their artistry and pioneering vision have catalyzed transformative change in the field, drawing the attention and support of major cultural institutions—including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, NYU Abu Dhabi, American Dance Festival, Joyce Theater, among others and funders such as MAP Fund, NDP, Wallace Foundation, among others.
About Ranee Ramaswamy
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Ranee Ramaswamy is Founding Artistic Director, Choreographer, and Principal Dancer of Ragamala Dance Company. As a dancemaker, performer, and culture bearer, Ranee’s creative vision is driven by a profound commitment to the artistic lineage she carries, intertwined with a pioneering spirit of innovation and collaboration across culture and discipline. Since immigrating from India to the U.S. in 1978, Ranee has been a trailblazer, working tirelessly to create a place for her culturally rooted choreographic work within the U.S. dance landscape. Ranee’s contributions to the field have been recognized by President Barack Obama, who appointed her to the National Council on the Arts, and honors such as a Guggenheim Fellowship, Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, Bogliasco Foundation Fellowship, Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Research Fellowship, U.S. Artists Fellowship, McKnight Distinguished Artist Award, and Bush Choreography Fellowship. Her choreographic work has been commissioned and presented by The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Joyce Theater, Northrop, Walker Art Center, American Dance Festival, and NYU Abu Dhabi, among many others.
Ranee Ramaswamy is Founding Artistic Director, Choreographer, and Principal Dancer of Ragamala Dance Company. As a dancemaker, performer, and culture bearer, Ranee’s creative vision is driven by a profound commitment to the artistic lineage she carries, intertwined with a pioneering spirit of innovation and collaboration across culture and discipline. Since immigrating from India to the U.S. in 1978, Ranee has been a trailblazer, working tirelessly to create a place for her culturally rooted choreographic work within the U.S. dance landscape. Ranee’s contributions to the field have been recognized by President Barack Obama, who appointed her to the National Council on the Arts, and honors such as a Guggenheim Fellowship, Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, Bogliasco Foundation Fellowship, Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Research Fellowship, U.S. Artists Fellowship, McKnight Distinguished Artist Award, and Bush Choreography Fellowship. Her choreographic work has been commissioned and presented by The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Joyce Theater, Northrop, Walker Art Center, American Dance Festival, and NYU Abu Dhabi, among many others.
About Aparna Ramaswamy
La Canada, California
Described by The New York Times as “thrillingly three-dimensional… rapturous and profound,” Aparna Ramaswamy is Executive Artistic Director, Choreographer, and Principal Dancer of Ragamala Dance Company. As a dancemaker, performer, and culture bearer, her work mine 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. Aparna has catalyzed a bold new vision for Bharatanatyam in the diaspora, charting previously unimagined 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. Her honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, Bogliasco Foundation Residential Fellowship (Italy), Rockefeller Bellagio Center Research Fellowship (Italy), Joyce Award, four McKnight Fellowships, and a Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from Carleton College.
Described by The New York Times as “thrillingly three-dimensional… rapturous and profound,” Aparna Ramaswamy is Executive Artistic Director, Choreographer, and Principal Dancer of Ragamala Dance Company. As a dancemaker, performer, and culture bearer, her work mine 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. Aparna has catalyzed a bold new vision for Bharatanatyam in the diaspora, charting previously unimagined 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. Her honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, Bogliasco Foundation Residential Fellowship (Italy), Rockefeller Bellagio Center Research Fellowship (Italy), Joyce Award, four McKnight Fellowships, and a Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from Carleton College.
About Ashwini Ramaswamy
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Ashwini Ramaswamy has spent decades studying Bharatanatyam from award-winning artists Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy (her mother and sister), and the legendary Smt. Alarmél Valli of Chennai, India. Her upbringing in both India and the U.S. has encouraged a hybridic and innovative aesthetic and vision. As a founding member of Ragamala Dance Company, she has toured extensively, performing throughout the U.S. and in Russia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, the U.K, and India.
Ashwini’s choreographic work has been presented by The O’Shaughnessy and the Cowles Center (The Twin Cities, MN); The Joyce Theater and Baryshnikov Arts Center (NYC), The Yard (Martha’s Vineyard, MA), Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, PA), The Scottsdale Center (Scottsdale, AZ), The Just Festival (Edinburgh, U.K), Modlin Center for the Arts (Richmond, VA), and BroadStage (Santa Monica, CA), among others.
She has received commissions from the Liquid Music Series, American Dance Platform, Great Northern Festival, Bates Dance Festival, and Perelman Center, among others; residencies at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, UNC Chapel Hill, Kohler Arts Center, NCC Akron, the Bogliasco Foundation (Bogliasco, Italy), and the Camargo Foundation (Cassis, France); and support from the National Dance Project, MAP Fund, USArtists International, National Performance Network (NPN); South Asian Arts Resiliency Fund, a Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, and McKnight Foundation Artist Fellowships for Dance and Choreography, among others.
Ashwini Ramaswamy has spent decades studying Bharatanatyam from award-winning artists Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy (her mother and sister), and the legendary Smt. Alarmél Valli of Chennai, India. Her upbringing in both India and the U.S. has encouraged a hybridic and innovative aesthetic and vision. As a founding member of Ragamala Dance Company, she has toured extensively, performing throughout the U.S. and in Russia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, the U.K, and India. Ashwini’s choreographic work has been presented by The O’Shaughnessy and the Cowles Center (The Twin Cities, MN); The Joyce Theater and Baryshnikov Arts Center (NYC), The Yard (Martha’s Vineyard, MA), Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, PA), The Scottsdale Center (Scottsdale, AZ), The Just Festival (Edinburgh, U.K), Modlin Center for the Arts (Richmond, VA), and BroadStage (Santa Monica, CA), among others. She has received commissions from the Liquid Music Series, American Dance Platform, Great Northern Festival, Bates Dance Festival, and Perelman Center, among others; residencies at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, UNC Chapel Hill, Kohler Arts Center, NCC Akron, the Bogliasco Foundation (Bogliasco, Italy), and the Camargo Foundation (Cassis, France); and support from the National Dance Project, MAP Fund, USArtists International, National Performance Network (NPN); South Asian Arts Resiliency Fund, a Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, and McKnight Foundation Artist Fellowships for Dance and Choreography, among others.