Love Language
Commissioned by YoungArts 2025-2026 Fellowship, Love Language reimagines the traditional Bharatanatyam composition format known as the varnam exploring romantic love.
Premieres in 2026
As You Are
As You Are (2022, 2025) began as a process-driven exploration, bringing together artists with different bodies, practices, and lived experiences to identify themes that resonate deeply within our shared and individual stories. The work weaves together reflections on the image a woman is expected to uphold in the world, the weight of motherhood, the relentless demands of life and care work, the quiet sacrifice of personal well-being, and the deep, lingering effects of childhood abuse and domestic violence. Developed in collaboration with Narika, a Fremont-based nonprofit that has served survivors of domestic violence in the Bay Area’s South Asian community for over three decades, As You Are is informed by real and nuanced stories of resilience and struggle.
Concept & Direction: Vaibhav Arekar
Choreography/Dancers: Rasika Kumar, Nadhi Thekkek, Preethi Ramaprasad, Sindhu Natarajan, Sri Thina Subramaniam, Surabhi Bharadwaj, and Shruti Abhishek
Music/Sound Designer: Sheena Dham
Producer: Shruti Abhishek Dance
This work is supported by the Creative Work Fund (in collaboration with Narika, Fremont), the
Kenneth Rainin New Program Award, and the East Bay Community Foundation.
A Movement Beyond
Commissioned by the Studio 210 Residency, A Movement Beyond (2021) uses (trans)national South Asian poetry to explore questions of visibility from the eyes of a Bharatanatyam dancer impacted by the politics of India and the United States.
Collaborators: Ananya Ashok, Umesh Venkatesan
Poetry by: Noon Meem Danish, Tulsi Das
Yours, Tenderly
Conceived as a dance film, Yours, Tenderly traces the history of South Asians in the Tenderloin through the artistic form of Bharatanatyam dance. In the film, Ramaprasad visits sites significant to the South Asian community, found through her research at the SFPL, and performs in front of them. Through performance, the film commemorates South Asian immigration and early cultural centers in the area, South Asian performances in the area, and generally, a celebration of the Tenderloin’s contribution to the national economy and culture. Yours, Tenderly has been featured at the San Francisco Dance Film Festival, The Asian American Dance Festival, and finally the 10,000 Dreams Film Festival.
The premiere of Yours, Tenderly (on September 26, 2024) was presented in conjunction with a special walking tour of the Tenderloin led by Anirvan Chatterjee and Barnali Ghosh, visiting notable places connecting to the area’s radical South Asian history and homes and including stops featuring librarian and author Moazzam Sheikh, Dancer Shruti Abhishek, and Yoni Ki Baat on South Asian stories of feminism.
Project Credits:
Dance, Concept, Choreography: Preethi Ramaprasad
Produced by: San Francisco Arts Commission, San Francisco Public Library
Event Partners: Tenderloin Museum, Berkeley Radical South Asian History Walking Tour
Production Director: Xiomara Forbez
Filming/Cinematography/Editor: Joanna Ruckman
Music: "Nithākam" by Ganavya and co-musicians from the album Aikyam: Onnu
Creative Advisors, Mentors, Choreography: Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy, Priya Murle
Dance Director/Collaborator: Nadhi Thekkek
Make-Up, Hair, Styling: Visalini Sundaram
Wardrobe and Creative Consultant: Christopher Gurusamy
Wardrobe: Ranjana Tailors, Aharya Tailors
Studio Assistance: Shruti Abhishek, Nadhi Thekkek, Xiomara Forbez, Alma Ruckman-Gallegos