December 30 & 31, 2009 Chennai
Anita Ratnam premiered her latest work MA3KA

Dec 30: for Krishna Gana Sabha, 7.30pm
Dec 31: for Karthik Fine Arts at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Main Hall, 6pm
www.ma3ka.com

November 28, 2009 Thirukurungudi
The annual KAISIKI NATAKAM takes place at Thirukurungudi temple (in the Tirunelveli district in southern Tamilnadu), a sacred center rich in history and legend. A massive structure in the heart of a cluster of small villages, this Vishnu temple is home to an array of stunning sculptures and workmanship of the 12th century Nayak rulers. Arangham has taken the responsibility of reviving this 10th century performance-art, unique to this temple. Considerable progress has been made since April 1998 in re-establishing the text, recording the music and recapturing some of the original dramatic narrative and movements. Aided by renowned Tamil theatre directors N Muthuswamy and Professor Ramanujam, the first phase of the revival performance of Kaisiki Natakam was held in December 1999 after a gap of 43 years.
The research and recording has been made possible due to the continued support and encouragement from members of the international Bhakti List as well as patronage from the TVS business group since the Thirukurungudi village is the native home town of the company's founder, Sri T V Sundaram Iyengar.

November 7 and 8, 2009 London
EXPLORING THE SACRED
Anita Ratnam shared her journey through ritual, sound and gesture
A Neo Bharatam dance workshop session
Demonstration at BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN in London on Nov 7 & 8, 2009.
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,4a Castletown Road, West Kensington, London W14 9HE
e-mail: info@bhavan.net / Telephone: +44 (0)20 7381 3086
Participants speak

October 29 & 30, 2009 Long Island City, NY, 8pm
Journey to the West, First public showing of Work in Progress featuring Diane Wolkstein & Anita Ratnam
CelebrateStory and the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center presented: Work in Progress

Directed by Richard Armstrong
Choreography by Sat Hon

Details
Monkey work sample Video

July 18 - August 2, 2009, Chennai
(Saturdays & Sundays), 5 p.m - 6 p.m.
Anita Ratnam conducted a series of Interactive theatre workshops for young adults and children at Hansel & Gretel Kids Centre.

With a rich collection of stories drawn from folklore, she enthralled children by narrating them in her inimitable style using voice, rhythm, musical instruments and fertile imagination. Along with her, children vividly recreated the magic of the stories, using creative role play and theatrical improvisations and tapped into their deepest interiors to bring out their creative best. This is a great way for children to discover their hidden potential, overcome stage fear and gain oodles of self confidence.
AGE GROUP: 8 years to 12 years
The 6 sessions are as listed below:
1. Sat, July 18, 5 pm - 6pm
2. Sun, July 19, 5pm - 6pm
3. Sat, July 25, 5pm - 6pm
4. Sun, July 26, 5pm - 6pm
5. Sat, Aug 1, 5pm - 6pm
6. Sun, Aug 2, 5pm - 6pm
Venue: Hansel & Gretel, 11 Jagadambal Street, T Nagar, Chennai 600017
Info: (044) - 28152549
e-mail: hanselandgretel.kids@gmail.com

July 18 - 24, 2009 Chennai
With the dance explosion all around India and elsewhere, the quality and vigour of dance writing has been woefully tame. Weak phrasing, tepid responses and boring summaries are mostly what passes for dance criticisms in Indian papers and online sites. This is the reason for the first of a series of dance writing workshops organised by narthaki.com, India’s foremost portal for Indian dance. Now ten years old, this path breaking portal has become a watchword for dance conversations across the world.

"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 also included 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 were the styles that was discussed by the group. The session was open to select participants who also watched 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.

The workshop dealt 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 was given at the end of the session.

Preview of the workshop featured at narthaki.com
Review of the workshop by Chethana Radhakrishna, Mysore featured at narthaki.com

July 10 - 12, 2009 Chennai
Anita Ratnam in "One Day in Ashadha"

play by The Madras Players in association with Dia
Details

May 3 - 31, Delhi, Pondicherry, Kolkata
May 3: Anita performed at the SNA book fair at Rabindra Bhavan in Delhi at 5pm, an informal contemporary performance with writer Rathna Raman who read from various texts. The 30 minute improvised show was a response by a dancer to the spoken word.
May 4 - 10: Anita attended the PERFORMERS TRAINING session at Adishakti, Pondicherry.
May 27 to 31: Anita participated in the National Choreography Seminar and Workshop at Kolkata organised by Padatik and facilitated by Ranan.

January 31, 2009 Toronto, Canada
CONTEMPORARY CHOREOGRAPHY IN INDIAN DANCE - INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND DANCE FESTIVAL, presented by Kalanidhi Fine Arts of Canada and Menaka Thakkar Dance Company (MTDC) from January 23 - 31, 2009. The two-day conference explored questions of what is "contemporary" Indian dance in India and Canada. Plus 6 nights of contemporary dance performances featuring 5 soloists and 9 dance companies from India, Germany and Canada.

- Anita Ratnam presented '7 Graces', a solo multi-media dance work which references the Buddhist Goddess Tara in a modern context, offering a journey to aesthetic eternities, exploring the aura and grace of the feminine transcendental on the 31st at 8pm.
Venue: Fleck Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay West, Toronto

December 30, 2008, 7.30pm
FACES...blessed unrest
Venue: For Kartik Fine Arts at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai

December 18, 2008
Anita Ratnam performed Ahalya, Once again stone (Neo Bharatam & Contemporary) at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha's Natya Kala Conference 2008
Theme: Ramayana in Performing Arts
Responses

November 27, 2008
Chief guest at book release of GURUVAYOOR temple "HEAVEN ON EARTH"
Venue: Taj Coromandel Hotel, Chennai

November 22, 2008
Special dance for 100th anniversary of Church Park Convent. Meenakshi Chittaranjan, Urmila Satyanarayana, Srilatha Vinod and Vyjayantimala Bali also performed.
Venue: Church Park Convent - school auditorium, Chennai

November 13, 2008, 3pm
Dance and storytelling session with professional story teller's group from USA
At her residence, at Studio Arangham
Click here to view a slide show

November 2, 2008 Chennai, 7pm
As part of Bharat Sangeet Utsav 2008 organised by Carnatica.com, Anita Ratnam presented FACES...blessed unrest (with guest artiste, Madhu Natraj).
At Narada Gana Sabha.
Click here to view a slide show

October 26, 2008 New Delhi at 7pm
Anita Ratnam performed FACES...blessed unrest as part of Raja and Radha Reddy's PARAMPARA festival
at Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi
Click here to view a slide show

October 19, 2008 Chennai, 6pm
Anita Ratnam and Revathy Sankkaran presented POORANII - THE DIVINE FEMININE
For the final day of the 25th year celebrations of dance and music magazine Sruti, Anita Ratnam and Revathy Sankkaran presented POORANII - THE DIVINE FEMININE with songs by Subhiksha Rangarajan, Ganjira by BS Purushottaman, Nattuvangam and Konnakkol by L Subhasri, Music Arrangement and Direction by Anil Srinivasan At: Alapana house on JJ Road, the location that Sruti started.

October 3 & 4, 2008, Wesleyan University, CT
Anita Ratnam performed and conducted workshop

Bharatanatyam dance performance
Friday, October 3, 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall

Bharatanatyam Dance Workshop
Saturday, October 4, 11am
Crowell Concert Hall

Performance contact:
Hari Krishnan
Artist in Residence, Department of Dance
Wesleyan University
e-mail: hkrishnan@wesleyan.edu

Performing for the first time in the historic Crowell Concert Hall where the great Balasaraswati once danced and sang, Anita revived her acclaimed Ragamalika varnam Nitya Kalyani, choreographed by her guru Adyar K Lakshman. This varnam, created especially for the opening of the 1971 Music Academy Dance Festival, was performed in the presence of singing diva MS.Subbalakshmi.

The performance by Anita featured two sections. The first was with live music, on special request by the University Dance Department. Singing for Anita was Shobana Raghavan, who has worked with Anita in Chennai for productions like Naachiyar, before moving to New York City. Ravi Srinivasan played the violin and Bala Skandan the mridangam. The first section had three dances.

1. Ambika Pallavi - hyms from the Lalitha Sahasranamam, tuned by OS Arun
2. Sirulu Minchina - A rare sabdam on Lord Vishnu from selected verses of the Janardhana Ashtakam - music by Vidwan Madurai N Krishnan
3. Nitya Kalyani - the song made popular by Devadasi artiste Bangalore Nagaratnamma and visualised in dance.

The second section of the programme contained the recorded score of the now acclaimed solo from NEELAM. Sikkil Gurucharn's rendering of Anil Srinivasan's concept of a ragam tanam pallavi of Ranga Pura Vihara by Mutthuswamy Dikshatar.

"I am excited and honoured to have been invited to dance at the Navaratri festival. The stage contains the vibrations of many great artistes and is always a challenge to share one's art with a serious crowd of rasikas in the US. Having taught and lectured for a master class some years ago, I am acutely aware of the keen insights and intelligence of the dance and music students of the Unversity," said Anita.
Responses
Click here to view a video of the show

Monday September 8, 2008
Anita Ratnam's NEELAM performance
at Nani Palkhiwala Auditorium, Coimbatore for Rajalakshmi Fine Arts

August 22 - 24, 2008 Zurich, Switzerland
Anita Ratnam and Arangham Dance Theatre performed for Grüezi India Summer Festival

Organized by GRUEZ INDIA an organization that is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the signing of the India Switzerland treaty in August 1948. Switzerland was the first country to sign a treaty with independent India in 1948. The logo for the summer festival is a peacock, India's national bird, holding an Edelweiss, the national flower of Switzerland, as a gesture of friendship.

The culmination of a month long celebration all over Switzerland was the MEGA MELA on August 22, 23 and 24th at the ZURICH HB (the old railway station) and visited by 300,000 people daily. The venue was transformed for the weekend to a little India... to accommodate the opening dance performance by India's Anita Ratnam and her artistes from Arangham Dance Theatre. A special 30 minute non stop performance was choreographed for the venue and the semi open air atmosphere, keeping the large crowds and the festive mood that prevailed. Anita Ratnam created a montage of dances including classical Bharatanatyam to folk and a jugalbandhi with Kathak artiste Madhu Natraj.

Images of Saint Andal, Prince Rama, Hanuman, Ganesa, Devi and a final folk drummer led the audience in a procession around the station. Renowned tabla artiste Zakir Hussain followed Anita Ratnam's dance performance with his own concert. Asha Bhosle was also an invited singer for the weekend festival.

Anita Ratnam also conducted a drumming and folk dance workshop for children the following day and delivered a lecture on contemporary dance trends in India to an invited audience from universities and museums.

For details of the festival: www.gruezi-india.ch

July 23, 2008, 8pm, Hyderabad
ANITA RATNAM performed during the National Festival of Numbers at the Rabindra Bharati Auditorium, Hyderabad.

The Sangeet Natak Akademi of New Delhi celebrated the National Festival of Numbers Natya Sankhya Utsav with a dance festival showcasing the significance of numbers and numerology with a performance for all numbers from 10 to 0 where each number was performed by a renowned dance performer. This festival was conceived by Padma Shri Ananda Shankar Jayant.

Anita Ratnam performed FRAMING FIVE using her signature movement aesthetic named NEO BHARATAM where voice, movement and text mingle. The number 5 stands as a mystical and significant number for many cultures across the globe such as Hindu, Jewish, Islam, Christian, Sikh and Shinto.

Dance legends such as Padma Subrahmanyam, Sonal Mansingh, Radha and Raja Reddy and Swapnasundari also participated in the series.