"Churning out more and more dancers seems to be the sole mantra for the thousands of dance schools across India," comments Anita Ratnam, founder and managing editor of narthaki.com. "What about the many areas that support dance, like dance writing?" she adds. Led by senior dance critic Leela Venkataraman, the 7 day sessions will also include mentors like dancer/scholar Nandini Ramani, theatre director, Veenapani Chawla, modern dancer Padmini Chettur and several classical dancers and groups who live in Chennai. Bharatanatyam, Mohiniattam, Kuchipidi and Kathakali will be the styles that will be discussed by the group.

The session is open to six to eight participants who will also watch several dance performances during the course of their week long session in the city.

narthaki.com believes that aspects of dance like lighting, costume design, stage management, marketing and the new media convergence are all aspects to be studied and incorporated into the world of Indian classical and contemporary dance. Intelligent and pithy dance writing and commentary makes up a very important part of this ongoing global discussion.

This workshop entails:  
- 4 to 6 hours a day daily for 7 days, starting from 9am every morning at Anita Ratnam's dance space. 
- Watching Dance DVDs  
- Watching performances and rehearsals with dancers at Anita Ratnam's dance space or at a specified place arranged in advance where some senior dancers will perform for 30 minutes and have discussions about process and choreography   
- Responses about the performance.   

The workshop will deal with various aspects of dance writing including: 
* The why of Dance Writing
*Ways of engaging with the dance 
 a) Research. b) Critiquing c) Documentation d) Writing about issues in dance scenario
*Writing Dance History, Documentation, Issues in dance

A certificate will be given at the end of the session.   

All will have to keep their evenings free to watch performances. If it's a ticketed performance, the fee must be paid by the participant. There will be at least 3 to 4 evening performances to be viewed during the workshop. 

Participants should bring an article/review on dance that they have written so the mentors will have an idea of their writing skills. It need not be a published article.  

Participants have to pay Rs.5000 totally (This includes Rs.500 for the registration) 
Those who wish to participate could either send a cheque for the full amount, or pay the registration fees first and the balance on the day of starting the workshop. 

The cheque must be in favor of ARANGHAM TRUST

Address 
Lalitha Venkat
(for narthaki)
5, Krishna Avenue, C V Raman Rd 
Alwarpet, Chennai 600018

Participants from outside Chennai can arrive on July 17 and depart on July 25.
They have to make their own travel and stay arrangements. 
Conveyance to and from venue and food will be their expense.
Lunch and tea/snacks will be provided during the workshop session.

Those interested, please write to narthakionline@gmail.com