SEVEN GRACES is a major break-through work. Unlike others that attempt to update bharata natyam for contemporary times or to blend bharata natyam with western Modern dance, this work calls upon both traditions but is recognizable as neither. Rather, it invents a new vocabulary, one demanded by its message. Ms Ratnam, with her director, Hari Krishnan, dug for the true grit and came up with gold. It is a shockingly raw yet compassionate and generous offering of personal, social and aesthetic revelation. The only work I can compare it to is Kazuo Ohno's; Seven Graces is a bharata natyam version of that butoh master's refined gestural opus in the service of psychological revelation. Ms. Ratnam's gloriously articulate gestures - fingers, eyebrows, toes - call forth in us little gasps of recognition and association. Appropriate for bharata natyam, unlike butoh, the work is deeply and gratifyingly womanly; while we may not be able to identify the autobiographical details, we cannot mistake that they are a woman's. I feel privileged to have been able to witness this work and want to see it again, and again. Dr. Deidre Sklar, Dance Scholar, University of California, December 2007

"amazing grace... an unexpected dance experience" Pankaja Srinivasan, THE HINDU, Coimbatore, February 2007

"Shimmering with an ancient storyteller's grace, Anita's solo on Goddess TARA was filled with both ordinary and transcendental emotions...In this sensual collage of visual and aural signification, Anita managed to keep the audience's attention intensely engaged at every moment." Cyril Wong, SUBSTATION MAGAZINE, Singapore, www.substation.org

In the 7 Graces not only does Anita Ratnam astound with the variety of her movement and performance vocabulary, but also convincingly locates all human experience –even the banal –within a spiritual context. Veenapani Chawla, ADISAKTHI Theatre, Pondicherry, June 17, 2006

Ratnam's expression remains stark and undeviating in its exploration of the in-between areas in experience and feeling. Kathakali Jana, Hindustan Times, April 20, 2006 Click here to view the review

an intensely moving experience - original and stunning. Utpal K Banerjee, THE PIONEER, New Delhi, January 24, 2006

Anita Ratnam's Goddess is the fearless product of a contemporary imagination that does not hesitate to place the profound and hoary with the new and tacky. The overall effect is of meditative quietude, as if it were entirely played out in silence, even though there are sections of vigorous dance accompanied by jati recitation. This effect is probably as much due to the unbroken concentration of the dancer and movment flow as the soothing music scape. Anjana Rajan, Friday Reviews, THE HINDU, January 20, 2006 Click here to view the review

And what happens when a woman connects with Tara? The music, richly borrowed from a variety of musical instruments, created a feeling of unease and awe in succession. The cycle of birth and death, the notion of masculinity and femininity of a Goddess and therefore her image were remarkably crafted. As Anita used the motif of Alapadma and Pataka, to negotiate the space between the male/female, inner/outer, woman/goddess principles displaying ferocity with compassion and joy with vigour, it was clear that the dancer had placed herself on a journey which will be singular but perhaps fulfilling. Lada Guruden SIngh, THE STATESMAN, New Delhi, January 20, 2006

The world premiere launch of Anita Ratnam's new dance solo on August 17-18, 2005 at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai met with an overwhelming response from critics and audience alike. Purely individualistic... unfamiliar and uncommon... personal statements giving visual interpretation to the cerebral pursuit of wisdom and learning... Like abstraction defies categorization, the collaborative work by Anita and Hari Krishnan could all be metaphors for the thought process gone through with their experiences in life. Chitra Mahesh, THE DECCAN CHRONICLE, 3 September 2005, Chennai

Intensely felt and portrayed, Anita Ratnam's "7 Graces"throbbed with deeply felt emotions and yet had a tranquility and grace that owed both to the movements and the music... the dancer's power of improvisation and creativity strongly came to the fore and her range of emotions engaged the audience. Kausalya Santhanam, Friday Reviews, THE HINDU, August 26, 2005

Poetry in motion... Anita Ratnam, the artiste and woman could be in touch with her emotions however raw they may be... "7 Graces" - an experience ranging from the chaos of emotions to the sublime calm of nothingness... the work inspired the audience to take the plunge and fall into a place where there are no conventional boundaries; where music, colour and movement blend into one. Seena Menon, CITYEXPRESS, Chennai, Saturday, August 20, 2005 Click here to view the review

Anita Ratnam's solo presentation, "7 Graces", was marked by a blurring of boundaries between the esoteric and the universal... The essence of the Tara mythology served as a background over which was woven an experiential pattern... Anita and her collaborator, Hari Krishnan (inDance, Canada) deftly used eclectic textual bases and wove a narrative that was non-linear, non-descriptive and open-ended. Aniruddhan Vasudevan, Chennai, www.narthaki.com

For jaded New York eyes, this performance made me think again about art and life. Pinky Kaur, INDIA POST, New York

Juhi Jhunjhunwala on performance of 7 Graces at the Rubin Museum of Art, Newyork Click on article for enlarged version