USA, November 19, 2014 (By Arun Venugopal, WNYC): Hema Ramaswamy, a young Indian-American woman with Down syndrome, performs her arangetram. After many years of preparation, Hema Ramaswamy of Middletown, N.J., is ready to unveil her arangetram, which literally means “ascending the stage.” It is a major accomplishment that takes years of preparation. This moment, when a student of dance or music asserts her artistic independence, usually happens in the teen years. Ramaswamy is 23.
Ramaswamy, who has Down syndrome, originally began dancing for health reasons. “But then it became part of her, and she really loves and enjoys it, and it took her 13 years with a lot of challenges, midway, to complete this,” explained her father, Ram. “And now today is a perfect day for her — her graduating in this art.” She was able to achieve this despite her diagnosis and despite two major surgeries for a dangerous leak of cerebrospinal fluid. Her father said dance has strengthened Ramaswamy’s muscles and given her fine motor skills she simply didn’t have before.”I feel so happy in dancing,” she beams, surrounded by a flurry of doting aunties while preparing for her performance.
Her father tells the crowd that Ramaswamy’s arangetram was more than a dance graduation; it was the day she became, in the eyes of the world, a full individual. Having achieved this goal, Ramaswamy says, she now plans to go to college.