Arts Tour Minnesota

Ragamala presented public performances and community outreach activities in Northfield and St Peter, Minnesota. In Northfield, we performed our signature work “Sacred Earth” at Saint Olaf College, along with a Bharatanatyam class for advanced dance students from the college’s Dance Department and local Division Street Dance school; a folk dance class for college students and community members; a visual art workshop for the college and general community; and a folk dance class offered at the Northfield Senior Wellness Center in partnership with the Northfield Arts Guild. In St Peter, we presented our newest work, “1,001 Buddhas: Journey of the Gods” at Gustavus Adolphus College, along with two assemblies for K-4 students at South Elementary School; and a drumming workshop by guest artists Wadaiko Ensemble Tokara promoted to college percussionists, the St Peter High School band, and the Saint Peter Governaires drum corps. Outcomes were evaluated via participant comments and feedback from community partners. 2: In St Peter, we formed a new partnership with Gustavus Adolphus College, allowing us to tour to a community we hadn’t previously visited. In Northfield, we renewed our partnership with Saint Olaf (where we hadn’t performed in over ten years), while deepening our ties to a community with whom we have been building a relationship since 1995 (mostly through a partnership with Carleton College). We evaluated our success through feedback from our partners. Gustavus Dance professor Michele Rusinko wrote, “I heard many, many great things following the performance. I went to the Saint Peter Food Co-op for lunch today, and the manager went out of her way to thank me for helping make it possible.” Al Behrends, Director of Fine Arts, wrote, “The reaction from the [K-12] school audiences was wonderful. I really loved it when they immediately reacted with their hands when the demonstration explained how words are formed by the hands in the dance.”