Home | Articles | Lectures
Press clippings
Interviews / Reviews / Articles
'It's a political act to decide to be a performing artiste': Anita Ratnam
- Arundhati Chakravarty
In Delhi to mark 30 years of Narthaki - an online platform she created
to connect the dance community - dancer, writer and arts entrepreneur
Anita Ratnam talks about issues surrounding dance in India, the impact
of the pandemic and challenges faced by performing artistes. |
'I didn't choose dance, it chose me': Anita Ratnam
- Judith Mariya Antony
In a candid conversation with Patriot, Ratnam talks about her passion
for dance, the development of India's largest phone directory of dancers
- 'Narthaki', its growth, and the invention of her dance style
Neo-Bharatam.
|
Outlook of Dr.Anita Ratnam
|
Directory of all things dance
- Ananda Shankar Jayant, New Indian Express, 1 July 2017
Selected to receive the Viswa Kala Ratna from UK-based MILAP Fest, Anita
is brimming with ideas, to ease access to creative processes, and
provide interactive opportunities for learning on Narthaki as she
continues to dream of taking the enchanting world of Indian dance to the
world.The word Narthaki means a dancer, but to all us dancers, it only
means www.narthaki.com-a dancer’s almanac.
|
Mapping the change
- Chitra Swaminathan, The Hindu, 18 Jan 2017
Sriram V and Anita Ratnam in conversation about the women who fought to
break stereotypes and brought reform at The Hindu Lit for Life.
|
Bharatanatyam with benefits
- Priya Menon, Times of India, Feb 28, 2016
Dancer and choreographer Anita Ratnam says Bharatanatyam has both
physical and mental benefits. "The basic stance of araimandi (a squat in
which knees are turned sideways) and keeping the torso steady while
the hands and lower limbs are moving helps with balance," she says,
adding that memory and imagination are stimulated as you have to
remember long sequences and improvise when you forget on stage.
|
Chennai's continuing romance with jasmine flowers
Latha Srinivasan, dnaindia.com, Aug 28, 2015
Renowned danseuse Anita Ratnam doesn’t wear the flowers in her hair but
carries a small bottle of jasmine essence in her purse. “The first thing
I do when I check into a hotel is sprinkle some jasmine essence in the
room and put out a picture of my family on my bedside. That for me is
home. Mallipoo is associated with memories,” she explains.
But mallipoo has a strong historical significance in the state as well.
Says Ratnam, “The flower carries with it not just the fragrance but the
grand history of celebrations, of brides wearing it, of classical
dancers, of queens in court, etc. It’s a flower that has regal opulence
and is synonymous with luxury. It has an extremely sensuous fragrance
and is very feminine.”
|
Winning Moves
- Treena Mukherjee, The Telegraph, Apr 12, 2015
Turning points came very early in my life - the first one probably the day that I was born.
|
The Morph Elegy
- Sudha G. Tilak, Outlook Magazine, Feb 16, 2015
Bharatanatyam's current exponents create a dance vocabulary all their own
|
Fashion finds a new rhythm
- Chitra Swaminathan, The Hindu, 8 Sep 2014
Anita, whose dance productions stand out for the way the
costumes are designed to bring out the mood and structure of the theme,
has often transformed into a showstopper at fashion events. "The focus
should be on the garment and not the person, which doesn't happen when
designers rope in film stars," she says.
In a visually stimulated world, most dancers are learning how
to enliven the performance space. "Stage setting matters as much as the
art. And stage setting is not just about lighting and audio; it
encompasses the right use of colours and clothes too. I sit with the
designers for hours explaining to them every movement and scene. The
synchrony between various elements of a production is what enhances the
appeal."
And interacting with fashion designers, she points out, is like
collaborating with cross-genre artists. "You need to understand their
vocabulary of fabric, cut, stitch and use of multiple craft traditions."
But the most rewarding aspect of fashion today, says Anita, is
seeing many of the couture-creators reviving our craft heritage and
looking beyond glamour to make style a way of life.
|
December 18-22, 2013
Kartik Fine Arts & Arangham Trust
present Purush:
The Global Dancing Male,
Conference/Performance Conclave
at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Mylapore,
Chennai
Dance
like a man
- The Hindu, 14 Dec 2013
In a curious reversal
of gender
discrimination, the
male classical dancer
is being sidelined,
says Anita R. Ratnam.
|
|
|
October 29, 2013
Click on images to view enlarged
version
At the 7th Guru Debaprasad Award
Festival conducted by Guru Gajendra
Panda's Tridhara, Anita Ratnam was
honored with the GURU DEBA PRASAD AWARD
for her contribution in the field of
Contemporary Dance, (the first time a
contemporary dance award is being given
to a dancer) at Rabindra Mandap,
Bhubaneswar.
|
Reviving an ancient art
- G. Srinivasan, The Hindu, August 22,
2013
Efforts are on to enact Kaisikapuranam
at the Thirukkurungudi temple on
December 13.
The venue was Sri Veera Narasimha
Perumal Temple on the banks of the
Vennar in Thanjavur. A group of artists
was rehearsing under the supervision of
"Nataka" Ramanujan, former professor of
Drama, Tamil University, and dancer
Anita Ratnam on August 17 and 18. They
were practising Kaisikapuranam, a temple
dance, which will be staged on December
13, (in Karthigai, Sukla Pakshami,
Dwadasi day) at the ThirukKurungudi
temple in Tirunelveli district.
For Ramanujan and Anita, reviving this
temple art form has been a painstaking
process.
|
Anita Ratnam presented ABOUT HER,
a solo contemporary dance-theatre
presentation in the NEO BHARATAM
style at the ODISHA CONTEMPORARY
DANCE FESTIVAL, 2nd edition of
SAMAKALA FESTIVAL - 2013
Contemporary rhythms
- Leela Venkataraman,
The Hindu, Friday
Review, 20 June 2013
Anita Ratnam's
"Sita", with a layered
interpretation
depicting Sita's
refusal to seek the
easy escape out of
Lanka by riding on the
shoulders of Hanuman,
was a tame start to
the recital. The next
item though was
evocative based on
Muttuswamy Dikshitar's
"Meenakshi me mudam
dehi" in
Poorvikalyani, which
so impressed Tagore
that he created a
lyric in the very same
raga and 'mettu', but
with words on
'Basanti" in praise of
Spring, for the
Brahmosamajist Tagore
saw divinity in Nature
and not the fish-eyed
Goddess Meenakshi.
Superb recorded music
alternating between
lines of Muttuswamy's
composition and that
of Tagore, the silken
changeover never
losing raga flow, saw
the dance
interpretation in the
seated position, even
while classical
abhinaya in tone, very
moving. By far the
best of the evening
was Avani inspired by
Tagore's epic poem,
the choreography
assisted by Canada's
Hariharan and Rex.
Prithvi or Earth as
both Mother Protector
and Destroyer, like
the cat giving birth
and devouring the last
kitten of its own
litter. The throbbing
music in two tracks,
one a base flute and
the other sharper,
with edekka and drums
and ragas like
Hamsadhwani and Desh
(concluding obeisance
to Mother Earth), the
lulling music
contrasted with
mocking sounds of
laughter, all added so
much to the
performance.
|
2nd edition of Samakala
Festival
- Dr Sunil Kothari,
www.narthaki.com, 18
June 2013
Anita's work is an
example of
collaboration with
choreographer, lights
designer, musicians,
costume designer and
visual designer,
bringing to the
production complete
professional approach,
perfection and
finesse. She also
takes help of a
dramaturg who advises
her for an overall
presentation.
Therefore, the
productions leave
strong visual appeal.
|
Samakaala - A Festival of
Contemporary Dances
Ileana Citaristi
comments on a welcome
addition to the national
panorama of dance
festivals.
The third segment
Avani was the most
well-articulated and
complex among the
three; inspired by the
anguished cry of
Tagore towards a
Mother Earth which
bears the wounds
caused by the war, the
piece very effectively
brought out the
intensity of the
subject, leaving
behind powerful images
of a suffering and
enraged Mother
Goddess. The costumes
and the lighting by
Victor Paulras were
excellent.
|
From classical to
contemporary
Odisha is doing a
fantastic job
culturally. The
Tourism Department is
doing a great job,
which is more than my
state Tamil Nadu.
Odisha is hosting so
many dance festivals
and inviting artistes.
The state has
fantastic
textiles, art,
craft, architecture,
folk music, classical
music and tribal
traditions. Everything
is so intense in the
state. - Anita
Ratnam
- Deepsha Rath,
The New Indian Express,
15 June 2013
|
Contemporary expressions
On the second
evening, Anita Ratnam
unravelled myriad
expressions of
womanhood through a
fusion of
Bharatanatyam and a
variety of dance
forms.
Diana Sahu,
The New Indian Express,
15 June 2013
|
|
|
The dance disconnect
- Malini Nair, The Times of India,
January 12, 2013
Excerpts from the article
Choreographer Anita Ratnam
agrees with Bali's point of view that
if, as a woman and a citizen, she
wants to express her distress and rage
at the way of the world she would
rather do it outside the realm of
Bharatanatyam.
"Classical dances are rooted in a time
when society was not complex and lines
were clearly drawn between classes,
castes and genders. That world is gone
but classical dances continue to
resonate those social structures, "
she says explaining the disconnect.
There is more scope for, say, dance
theatre to connect with social
upheavals than Bharatanatyam, she
says. "You can't stand on stage, in a
typical dancer stance, attired in silk
and gold and talk angrily about AIDS
and rape. It simply does not work to
suddenly weave a campaign into a
jatti. That would serve neither cause,
dance nor activism, " says Ratnam.
She points out that it takes a
backbreaking amount of planning,
conceptualising and outof-the-box
thinking to pull classical dances into
contemporary themes. But that will
fall into the category of dance drama
with strong, spoken words worked
around dance movements. Pina Bausch,
she recalls, was one such dancer who
could do so - have women lying still
on stage and get a male dancer to do
push-ups around the stage to indicate
sexual violence and stereotypes.
Ratnam presented her curated show Epic
Women during the season in Chennai,
showcasing artistes' interpretation of
legendary mythical and historical
female characters. The stories of
Yashodhara, Frida Kahlo, Draupadi,
Kunti, Hidimba, Helen, Kannagi and
Sita were told using classical dance
only as a grammar.
|
July 22 - 28,
2012
Anita Ratnam participated in working
group for discussions and performance on
RELIGION, MYTHOLOGY AND PERFORMANCE at
the annual IFTR (International
Federation of Theatre Research)
conference titled MEDIATING THEATRE –
Opera, dance, acting, research, new
media and ritual, Santiago, Chile.
American Carnatic,
Chilean Odissi
Akhila Krishnamurthy, The Times of
India, September 8, 2012
|
Anita Ratnam & Pritha Ratnam
presented 'ANDAL- ANDAL' at
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mylapore on Dec
21, 2011
Moods of Andal
- Vidya Saranyan, The Hindu,
Dec 29, 2011
(Anita Ratnam & Pritha Ratnam)
Margazhi Report: Anita Ratnam
Amrutha Ananth, Dec 23, 2011 |
Social fabrics
T.Krithika Reddy, The Hindu Metroplus,
September 20, 2011
|
Her flight path
Nita Vidyarthi, The Hindu, July 21, 2011
Well-known dancer Anita Ratnam shares
the trajectory of her journey through
Bharatanatyam
|
Dance is a challenge!
by Jaywant Naidu, Deccan Post, Mar 25,
2011
Anita Ratnam was in Hyderabad to
showcase her dance production 'Neelam…
Drowning in bliss' organized by South
Indian Cultural Association ( SICA).
She spoke to Deccan Post about her
creative pursuits.
|
Response to Dance and Discussion on
the Divine Feminine titled HER and
BLISS…in chapters, by Anita Ratnam for
Jnanapravaha, Mumbai on October 29
& 30, 2010
Details
; Responses |
Presentation at DESH PRAVA: FESTIVAL
OF PERFORMING ARTS on Oct 4, 2010
New Delhi
(Details)
A wealth so uncommon
by Leela Venkataraman, The Hindu, Friday
Review Delhi, Oct 15, 2010 |
Home | About | Events | Active Repertoire |
Activities | Press | Contact | Site map
|
|