Tamara Nadel, Artist « MN Jewish Artists Directory

Art Form(s)

Dance

Connect

https://www.ragamaladance.org/tamara

[email protected]

I am interested in collaborative work.

Minneapolis

Artist Statement

'Haven’t I Hidden Your Name?' is an intercultural, cross-disciplinary dance work rooted in the writings of the Sephardic poets of southern Spain’s Golden Age—a period known for innovations in art and thought that emerged from the intermingling of Islamic, Jewish, and Christian traditions. Inspired by more than 20 years of conversations about the synergies between their own Jewish and Hindu traditions, choreographer Ranee Ramaswamy and soloist Tamara Nadel use the living language of Bharatanatyam (South Indian classical dance) to illuminate the universal journey of a human soul longing for transcendence. An original musical score by Cantor Basya Schechter, Lalit Subramanian, Vinod Krishnan, and Cantor Audrey Abrams (specially commissioned for this work) weaves together Jewish and South Indian musical genres and instrumentation. 'Haven't I Hidden Your Name?' premiered in 2017, co-presented by Beth El Synagogue in Minneapolis, and has since been performed as part of the 2022 Conney Conference on Jewish Arts at UW-Madison.

Artist Biography

Called “richly expressive” and “vibrantly individual” by the City Pages and recognized for her “singular artistry” by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Tamara Nadel is a founding member, performer, and teacher with Ragamala Dance Company, known for large-scale, multidisciplinary works rooted in the South Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam. She is a disciple of the company’s Artistic Directors, Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy, under whom she has engaged in intensive study of Bharatanatyam since 1994.

Tamara has toured extensively with Ragamala throughout the U.S. and in Russia, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, India, and the U.K., highlighted by the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Lincoln Center (New York), Joyce Theater (New York), American Dance Festival (Durham, NC), Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (Beckett, MA), Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (IL), International Festival of Arts & Ideas (New Haven, CT), Just Festival (Edinburgh, U.K.), Bali Arts Festival (Denpasar, Indonesia), the Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (UAE), Sri Krishna Gana Sabha (Chennai, India), and National Centre for Performing Arts (Mumbai, India), among others.

In 2017, Tamara premiered the solo work 'Haven’t I Hidden Your Name?'--a solo work created for her by Ranee Ramaswamy--at Beth El Synagogue in Minneapolis. In 2022, she was invited to perform 'Haven't I Hidden Your Name?' at the Conney Conference on Jewish Arts at UW-Madison.

Tamara is a 2006 McKnight Artist Fellow in Dance, and is a recipient of grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, the Howard B. and Ruth F. Brin Jewish Arts Endowment Fund of the Minneapolis Jewish Federation, Rimon: the Minnesota Jewish Arts Council, and a Travel Study Grant from the Jerome Foundation.

Tamara also serves as Ragamala’s Director of Institutional Development. She served on the City of Minneapolis Arts Commission from 2008-2010, and currently serves on the board of directors of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. She holds a degree in Religious Studies from Macalester College, with a Minor and Honors in Dance.

Work Samples