On a balmy May day I had the joyous experience of interviewing Malathi Iyengar, a dance artist who has dedicated her life to one of her passions, Indian Dance. Having some experience in this area, I found her life and work fascinating, passionate and focused on delivering the culture and art of such a wonderful and difficult artform. Rangoli Dance Company will perform their 40th Anniversary Celebration, Moksha on Saturday, June 28 at 7:00pm at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Hollywood.
JD: Malathi, first of all, congratulations on your 40th anniversary with your Rangoli Dance Company. That is a remarkable milestone!
MI: Thank you so much. Yes, it feels both long… and beautiful. Staying the course in dance for so many years hasn’t been easy, but it has been deeply rewarding.
JD: Yes and this makes me curious. I’d love to start with a little background.
MI: Well, I actually started doing Indian dancing at 33 years old.
JD: Really? Amazing!
Rangoli Dance Company – Varshini – Photo courtesy of the company.
MI: Yes, I got married at 19 and I moved to this country. I was living here with my husband. And when our daughter Lakshmi was born, she was dancing all the time. So I put her in ballet and gymnastics, and other kinds of activities to see what might spark her interests and she was very much interested in watching Indian dance. Because I had come from a family of classical musicians, my father was a violinist and my mother sang, I wanted to look for a teacher for her in Indian dance from India. A master teacher who would be willing to come here.
JD: Oh! So you invited your teacher here?
MI: Yes, that’s right. So, I met someone through a whole lot of recommendations. In India, people took me to different teacher’s houses. I talked to them. And finally, I was really drawn to this lady. Her name is Guru Narmada. I felt there was some connection. I asked her, would you consider coming to the United States…to Los Angeles to teach my daughter? At that time, I had no idea about learning myself. And she said, You know, there’s so many people who keep saying, Oh, come to London, come to America…but let’s see, when you go back to America, if you’re really serious, I’ll think about it.
Then she said, My student is dancing tomorrow. I want you to come and watch and tell me what you think. I did, and it was just unbelievably beautiful. The next day, I flew back to the U.S.
After that, all I could do was to keep talking to my husband and my parents because they had just come here from India. I told them, I think I have found a Guru. I think I have a wonderful teacher who can teach our daughter. They kept saying, Oh, you mean bring her from India to here? And I said yes! Would that be possible? And then, you know, my kind husband said, If this is what you want to do in your life, if this is what you think is important, then we’ll do it.
Malathi Iyengar and her daughter Lakshmi lyengar – Photo by Rose Eichenbaum.
JD: Oh my, what an act of love Malathi.
MI: Well, you now, I felt for my daughter, because she was born in America, to Indian parents, and after all, she is still an American girl. So, I felt she is here to learn something of value with a solid love and understanding of our culture through dance and music. So within two weeks, I prepared all the Visa papers for Guru’s sponsorship.
JD: Oh! My gosh…so fast!
MI: Yes, I did everything for my Guru…she was in shock! It seemed like she thought, Oh, my God…what do I do now? This woman has done it all. So the journey started. She came, and for eight years, she came twice a year. She would come during Lakshmi’s break from school in July and August and winter break.
But still, I kept worrying. Well, once she leaves, who is going to practice with my daughter? Someone has to do that…she’s only six years old. So that is what made me learn. And I was already 33 or 34 years old. Oh my…and then it became my calling. It became so serious for me that I also did my solo dance debut here, under her guidance and direction, along with my daughter’s solo dance debut.
My Guru then insisted that I should start teaching in addition to performing so I could get more experience. And that’s when I went back to UCLA because I felt I needed to find a way to use all the skills to be able to make works for mainstream audiences and not just limited to Indian audiences alone.
That was, I felt, the most beautiful time…when I went to UCLA. My mind was opened and I had great teachers. I was mentored by the legendary Marion Scott, who really helped shape my choreographic sensibilities. She had already retired by then. Judy Mitoma, Head of the Department, was so great. She said, you know, I’m going to see if Marion would be willing to come back from her retirement to be your mentor…And she did. She was my mentor for two years on a one-to-one basis. All my choreographic classes were with her. I was very lucky.
Rangoli Dance Company in “Shivaya” – Photo courtesy of the company.
JD: That is so important. Your path was filled with such good fortune.
MI: Yes, so lucky. Marion even met my Guru. She found this happy place to guide me in my choreography classes. I didn’t know how it would go, but she guided me entirely by asking questions, not giving me any particular tools, or skills, or ideas. I would choreograph a one- minute or minute-and-a-half minute piece… and at that time UCLA did not have an MFA program for traditional dancers. They only had the MA or PhD track. So, when I joined, I insisted that I wanted to be an MFA, because I wanted the practitioner’s point of view. They said, look, we don’t have any guide for you in Bharatnatyam. I said, I’m not looking to be trained, I have my guru, I’m more interested in choreography and staging. And that’s when they brought Marion on the scene. Then they said, you have to have certain showings, meaning you choreograph and also come and watch other faculty showings. Then we’ll tell you whether we can move you to the MFA track.
So they kept me in the MA program for a full year, where I did 13 showings in that year. No one has ever done that many. Finally I came home frustrated and in tears and told Marion this is too much for me. How many showings will I have to do? This is what I want to do in the community…and what I want to pursue. Well…when I got home that day, there in the mail, was a letter that said I had been accepted into the MFA Program. That happened to be the year when the World Arts and Cultures Department was born.
Rangoli Dance Company – Photo courtesy of the company.
JD: What a triumph…you were a pioneer.
MI: Yes, as a traditional dancer they had accepted me and I was a kind of guinea pig because soon after that they started the World Arts and Cultures Program. They knew that this is what I wanted and I would go to any lengths. And as long as it took for me to convince them, showed that this was where my heart was. And all the professors, Elsie Dannin, Colin Quigley, Judy Mehta, all of them, cheered for me. They convinced the Dean, because they had to approve starting a new department.
JD: Thrilling! Well, you are an amazingly brave and persistent spirit. Could you tell me about your up-and-coming concert? Can you share what audiences can expect?
MI: Absolutely. It’s on Saturday, June 28 at 7:00pm at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Hollywood. It’s a 40th Anniversary Celebration called, Moksha. The Rangoli Dance Company will perform, Krishna: ‘The path of the Playful’ and a Retrospective of selective choreographic works. The concert features nine pieces. Five are completely new and the other four are restagings from past works. Some date back to 2007 and 2010. The new works include original music I’ve commissioned over the past two and a half years. One of the highlights is a piece on the Rain Goddess, which combines traditional storytelling with contemporary movement explorations.
Rangoli Dance Company – Photo by George Simian.
JD: It sounds wonderful. What is important to you artistically?
MI: I always ask how I can connect with someone who knows nothing about Indian dance or culture. I aim to create emotional and visual entry points that rise above cultural boundaries, whether through story, movement or gesture.
JD: Do you find yourself addressing the religious aspects of the stories?
MI: I treat mythology artistically, not religiously. My students come from diverse backgrounds, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jewish. I encourage them to look at the deities as symbols or artistic representations of values like compassion or strength. It keeps the experience universal.
JD: Such a wonderful outlook. How do you see Rangoli’s future?
MI: I think we’ll focus more on touring and teaching as opposed to self-producing events. My hope is that my daughter and a few senior dancers will carry the vision forward. The aim is always to keep the art alive, meaningful and transformative.
Rangoli Dance Company – Malathi lyengar center – Photo by Gene Lewis.
JD: Well, thank you a, for sharing your amazing story. It’s not just about dance, it’s about life, persistence, and devotion to your purpose.
MI: Thank you Joanne. It’s been a joy to reflect and share. I hope to see you at the performance.
The Rangoli Dance Company will perform its 40th Anniversary Celebration, Moksha on Saturday, June 28 at 7:00pm at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Hollywood.
To purchase tickets, please go to https://rangolidancecompany.brownpapertickets.com/.
For more information about the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, please visit their website.
Written by Joanne DiVito for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Rangoli Dance Company – “Mahaganapathim” – Photo courtesy of the company.
