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Chennai, India | 2015
Hema Ramaswamy practices Bharatanatyam, a South Indian classical dance form, with her aunt, who is a dance instructor. A few months earlier, Hema had given a public dance recital, called an arangetram, to a large audience in New Jersey. Preparing for an arangetram requires years of formal training and often serves as a rite of passage for young South Indian women. Born in New Jersey to a family with roots in Chennai, Hema is believed to be the first Indian American woman with Down syndrome to complete an arangetram.

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INDIAWORLD
Chennai, India | 2015<br /> Hema Ramaswamy practices Bharatanatyam, a South Indian classical dance form, with her aunt, who is a dance instructor. A few months earlier, Hema had given a public dance recital, called an arangetram, to a large audience in New Jersey. Preparing for an arangetram requires years of formal training and often serves as a rite of passage for young South Indian women. Born in New Jersey to a family with roots in Chennai, Hema is believed to be the first Indian American woman with Down syndrome to complete an arangetram.