Anita Ratnam in NEO BHARATAM ( contemporary )

CREDITS:
Choreography: A collaboration with Hari Krishnan (InDance, Canada)
Sound Design: Suresh Gopalan, Anil Srinivasan, Hari Krishnan and Anita Ratnam
Costume/Visual Consultant: Rex 
Voice: Subhashree Ramachandran 

Description of the form

NEO BHARATAM is a performance style developed by Anita Ratnam after her many years of learning. performing and studying classical, folk and martial art forms of South India. Combining this personalized vocabulary with her study of classical music and ritual temple hand gestures, Ratnam presents an excerpt from her new solo work SEVEN GRACES which is an abstracted metaphor of the Buddhist Goddess TARA.

BHARATAM is the original Tamil name for the popular classical dance form of Bharata Natyam. Originating from the South Indian State of Tamilnadu, it is the most recognised style of Indian classical dance which has served as Anita Ratnam's foundation upon which to build her own signature choreography.

Name of the piece: PALIMPSET - a mood mosaic of TARA's seven graces

Anita Ratnam is one of India's most important voices in the dialogue of dance and movement. Best known in the United States for her pioneering role as host and producer of the weekly news and entertainment show "Cinema Cinema" in the 1980s. Anita returned to her hometown of Chennai to create a foundation (ARANGHAM TRUST), a dance company (ARANGHAM DANCE THEATRE) an international festival (THE OTHER FESTIVAL) and a website (www.narthaki.com) to further the interantional profile of India's dance. An award winning performer, Ratnam was most recently seen in New York performing SEVEN GRACES at the RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART in October 2005. She is currently preparing her Phd thesis on Women in Temple Ritual Art of Tamilnadu.