Anita
Ratnam, one of
the India's most gifted artists
is an accomplished classical dancer and choreographer. With a career spanning three decades and over 1000 performances in 15 countries,
this multifaceted personality has made significant contributions in other fields as Choreographer, Scholar,
Television Personality and Cultural Activist.
She had her initial dance training under Adyar K.
Lakshmanan and later went to Rukmini Devi Arundale's 'Kalakshetra' for advanced
training and
earned a Post graduate diploma in Dance. She trained
in Bharatanatyam
as well as Kathakali and
Mohiniattam,
the classical dances of Kerala .
Having done her Master's degree in Theatre and Television from the University of New Orleans,
in U.S.A., she spent ten years as a Television Producer/commentator in the United
States with productions including a weekly series on art, travel and culture
in India and the highly acclaimed
'Festival of India's TV series. Her work there earned her Emmy and Ace award nominations.
Anita is the Founder-Director of
'Arangham', a performing arts organisation, established in Chennai (Madras) in 1992, dedicated to explore, enrich and promote the performing and visual arts of
India. Her productions reflect a unique ability to combine and experiment the classical and contemporary, presenting Indian traditions in new
versions for modern audiences. Anita has toured abroad widely to perform as well
as conduct workshops, choreograph, to present lecture demonstrations and
participate in Dance and theatre seminars in places from the Far East to Europe
to United States. She has alliances with several Indian as well as International
dance and theater companies and has created several unique works such as 'A map
to the world' (1997) with native American poet Joy Harjo, ' The inner world'
(1998) with Pangea World Theatre in Minneapolis, 'Dust' (2001) with Mark Taylor
of Dance Alloy in Pittsburgh, USA; ' Vortext (2002)' with Canadian dance artist
Peter Chin, 'Daughters of the Ocean' (1999) with writer Shobita Punja
which toured India to much acclaim etc are some of them.
She is also the author of
'Natya Brahman' a book on the comparative drama traditions of India and Greece
and is editor and publisher of 'Narthaki' - a directory of Indian dance. A truly multi-dimensional personality, Anita Ratnam has also made an impressive entry into films (with her role as an antagonist in Rajiv Menon's family drama
'Kandukondain Kandukondain'). She is the key person
behind the movement which promotes contemporary Indian dance, called the 'The
Other Festival' held in Chennai every December.
Anita Ratnam has
received several awards and recognition for her work in the performing arts in
India and abroad. Some of them being the 'Nritya Choodamani'(1996) by Sri
Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai; 'Kalaimamani' (1998) for Dance Research by
Govt. of Tamilnadu, Media Achievement award (1991) by National Organisation of
women in New York, Mahatma Gandhi Award for cultural harmony (1986) US; 'Lalithakalaratna'
(2003) by Sri Lalithakala Academy Foundation Trust (Inc.), Mysore, 2003, 'Natya
Ratna' (2003) by Sri Shanmukhananda Sangeeta Sabha, New Delhi etc
Today,
apart from enchanting audiences being a dancer/ choreographer, Anita performs as
a cultural commentator, writer and speaker on the performing arts and deserves
credit for her role in furthering the profile of Indian
dance internationally.
Contact address
Anita Ratnam,
Arangham Dance Theater,
10 Cenotaph II Lane,
Teynampet, Chennai 600018
Ph: (044) - 28524917 / 24352123, Fax: (044) - 28522224 / 24342239
e-mail: aratnam@vsnl.com
Websites: http://www.arangham.com/, http://www.anitaratnam.com,
http://www.narthaki.com/anitaratnam
