Ranee Ramaswamy has been a master teacher and performer of Bharatanatyam, the southern Indian classical dance form, since 1978, when she immigrated to the U.S. Ramaswamy founded Ragamala Dance, and the company has toured nationally and internationally. Her goal is to “imbue the precision and sculptural clarity of Bharatanatyam with a thoroughly contemporary fervor,” and she has collaborated with artists who work in different dance styles. She has received many honors, including a McKnight Distinguished Artist Award (2011) and was recently nominated by President Obama to serve on the National Council on the Arts.