(South Indian dance music) - When I came to this country, Aparna was three years old.

(South Indian dance music) When I started to teach, my mother noticed (South Indian dance music) that Aparna was learning all those pieces by herself watching, and Aparna needed no encouragement.

She just took to it like duck to water.

And then when Ashwini was born six years later, we met our teacher, Allarmel Valli, the great dancer.

And then when Ashwini was born six years later, And the two of us became students together.

So I was 29 when I met her.

And I said, I will start from the beginning, because I have never seen a dance like this and I will never have this opportunity.

We became students together, so it's a special relationship.

and I will never have this opportunity.

If I'm the root, she's the trunk of this organization.

- Ragamala is a dance company based in the South Indian classical form of Bharatanatyam.

Bharatanatyan has ancient roots, yet it absorbs the nuances of each practitioner.

It changes with each person and is passed on very carefully in a lineage.

I have always loved it.

I have always wanted to practice it very deeply.

I have always loved it.

It's also been a very strong point of connection between me and my mother, and it keeps me connected to a place I feel is home.

between me and my mother, and it keeps me connected And so, when one is able to pursue something they love, between me and my mother, and it keeps me connected in a very genuine state, between me and my mother, and it keeps me connected it feels very rare, and I feel very fortunate.

- I was literally born into this dance company.

It was started by my mother and Ranee in 1992.

- I was literally born into this dance company.

Since I can remember, there has been music and dance and artists in our lives, so, it's been a really integral way for me to connect with being Indian, because I was born and raised here in the United States, and that can be a confusing experience.

Especially when your friends and people around you don't really understand the culture you come from.

So through dance, you're able to really educate people about this culture in a very unique way that is entertaining, as well as educational.

about this culture in a very unique way - One, two, three, four.

(clapping rhythm) (singing traditional Indian dance music) (sings in Konnakol) Okay, good.

See how much different that looked?

Okay, good.

Lineage is a massively important part of Bharatanatyam.

So, there's always been a school, and it's very small, and it's very deliberately small So, there's always been a school, and it's very small, because we'd like to give a lot of attention to each student.

But, if you think about it, we also teach these girls confidence and the importance of women-run companies, how to communicate in certain ways.

So, we really pride ourselves on teaching these girls from a young age, life lessons that go beyond dance.

(traditional South Indian music) - Correct.

- At the end.

- Yeah.

And then too, I get cuts, and then, Ayul, cut into Ayul.

- And, away you go!

- We can shorten that.

- Yeah, we can shorten it.

- Yeah.

- And, just to the very end of that, that's good.

My mother and I collaborate in every part of Ragamala, so, we create together, we practice together often.

My mother and I collaborate in every part of Ragamala, When we don't practice together, we watch each other, and give each other feedback.

We uphold the lessons that we learned we watch each other, and give each other feedback.

from our teacher together.

It feels really, really special from our teacher together.

to share something as an adult, from our teacher together.

to share something with my mother and my adult sister.

It's not an adequate word, but, it feels very beautiful to have this incredibly strong, supported relationship.

- We're very lucky to work together as a family.

It's very important to our work because, the intergenerational nature and how we feed off of each other and how we each have very specific experiences with our Indian culture and our American culture, all feeds in to the choreography.

We are open on Friday.

all feeds in to the choreography.

We have rehearsal during the day, we're open in the evening.

And, we have our performance on Saturday.

It's a blessing because we have a lot And, we have our performance on Saturday.

of shared experience also to draw from collectively.

And, we communicate in a way that I think, only a family can understand.

It's almost like, you don't have to talk all the time and you know what the other person is thinking.

So, I think to our specific company, and you know what the other person is thinking.

and our work, it's extremely important.

The way that we create, and the model of the company it just, it was built on a family.

The way that we create, and the model of the company (traditional South African music) The way that we create, and the model of the company I happen to have a family where we are all deeply in love with one art form.

What family offers you, is a very safe sounding board, and, that is a very rare thing.

Creating art can be very isolating and, so to have people who love and trust around you while you're doing so, it can be incredibly heart-warming around you while you're doing so, and just, frustrating and challenging in a wonderful way.

(traditional South Indian music) - I grew up in a culture where dance was not allowed after certain age.

So, I had to quit.

My whole life was planned.

My dad was a scientist, but he checked with the astrologer My whole life was planned.

before everything was done.

So, the astrologer said that I would get married before everything was done.

at a certain age, that I will have this many children, and that's it, there was no future .

If I had lived in India, that would have been a full stop for my life, in Sebdia, housewife and a mother.

If I had lived in India, that would have been a full stop But, coming here gave me an opening.

I believe in destiny, because you can plan as much as you want, but, destiny waits for you.

And, I got this opportunity to study from the world's best artist.

And, I got this opportunity to study And then, to do it with my children everyday when I practice, I am alive and I think, "Oh, my God, I have this opportunity to do this!"

when I practice, I am alive and I think, All of the opportunities in life, when I practice, I am alive and I think, has come to me through dance, when I practice, I am alive and I think, and, so, I want to give it the best.

And, I wanna work on it until I die.

And I think that, that's my passion!

(Indian music fades)