At a recent rehearsal at Ragamala Dance Company's space at the Center for Performing Arts, co-artistic director Ranee Ramaswamy engaged every facet of her body — from each bone in her fingers and toes to her ribcage, neck and elbows. Her face conveyed emotions through expressions. She didn't just smile, she glowed.
She, along with her daughters Aparna and Ashwini and their troupe, were practicing mudras (intricate hand positions), abhinayas (expressional movements) and brisk footwork for Ragamala's latest work, "Fires of Varanasi: Dance of the Eternal Pilgrim," which will be performed Saturday at Northrop.
Her company specializes in the Pandanallur style of bharatanatyam, the South Indian dance form that was originally performed as solo acts at Hindu temples by female dancers conveying religious stories. Ragamala's performances incorporate an ensemble element, while keeping the notion of solo dancing at the forefront. Each dancer in the company is a soloist, even if they happen to be moving in synchronicity with other performers.
So, too, does the Ramaswamy family. Ranee, Aparna and Ashwini each pursue their artistry as individuals in their own right, but also bring the art form together in their stage performances.
Growing up in Chennai (then Madras), India, Ranee said as a child she begged her parents to let her learn bharatanatyam. But she gave it up, got engaged at 17 and married at 20. In 1978, after she had moved to the United States with her first husband and Aparna (Ashwini was born later in Minneapolis), she was asked to give a performance at the University of Minnesota's Coffman Memorial Union, and that reignited her love for the dance form.
When the renowned bharatanatyam dancer Alarmel Valli led a workshop at Coffman, she asked Aparna, who was then 8 and had no training yet, to return with her to India and be her student. Ranee said yes, only if she, too, could study under Valli. In 1992, founded Ragamala, and started teaching dance to about 30 students out of her home in Burnsville.

Over the decades, Ragamala became a performing company and now has around 70 students. Aparna, who is known for her solo acts, co-directs Ragamala along with her mother and they both teach special classes for senior students and company members by invitation only.
Ashwini also teaches classes with a roster of other teachers. She first learned bharatanatyam when she was 5, but gave it up. Then she recommitted to study the dance form as an adult and in recent years has ventured out on her own as an independent artist, choreographing pieces notably for the Liquid Music Series and the Great Northern festival.