USA Projects

My newest project, to be created in collaboration with my choreographic partner (and daughter) Aparna Ramaswamy, is inspired by the thousand-year journey of art, mythology, iconography, and ritual along the Silk Route, from the Hindu temples of India to the Buddhist temples of Japan. With a specially commissioned score by composers/percussionists Kalamandalam Unnikrishnan (New Delhi, India) and Art Lee (Nagano, Japan), 1,001 Buddhas will explore these dynamic places and traditions and how they have survived and evolved through the ages, both in Asia and the Diaspora. With 1,001 Buddhas, I will illuminate the ways in which this ongoing journey continues to inform ever-shifting notions of culture and identity in the 21st century.

Throughout my body of work, I seamlessly carry the South Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam into the 21st century. I see Bharatanatyam as a multi-dimensional art form—a dynamic, living tradition whose beauty, vitality, stunning physicality, and emotional depth offer vast potential to convey timeless themes and contemporary ideas. This original approach has inspired innovative works and collaborative partnerships with renowned composers, choreographers, poets, playwrights, and artists from around the world.

I was inspired to create 1,001 Buddhas by my travels to the majestic 12th century Sanjusangendo temple in Kyoto, Japan, known for its 1,001 statues of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy. The goddesses are attended by 30 guardian deities, known as “protectors of Buddhism,” whose names, iconography, and attributes reflect their origins in specific deities of the Hindu pantheon and illustrate the ancient ties between India and Japan. 

To research this project, I will re-visit the Sanjusangendo temple in Kyoto and travel to the Ajanta and Ellora caves in Western India, whose grand structures, intricate sculpture, and rich narrative paintings document Buddhism's origins in India and its roots in Hinduism. Through my research, I will explore the roots of this journey and the imagery and poetry it has inspired throughout the ages. 

I will commission a score from Mr. Unnikrishnan and Mr. Lee—each a master of a powerful festival drumming form: the Chenda of India and the Taiko of Japan. Performed by a large-scale cast of dancers and drummers, the grandeur and subtlety of the movement and music will embody the journey—physical, cultural, and personal—through the metaphor of a festival. 

This funding will be used for travel to Kyoto and to Sanjusangendo temple for research.