Anita Ratnam is one of the most talented dancers of the Indian subcontinent. She has been trained as a Bharatanatyam, Mohiniattam as well as a Kathakali dancer and is counted amongst the best choreographers of the South. Anita is also handling the responsibility of being a cultural commentator, writer and speaker on the performing arts. One needs to applaud her for the role she is playing in the promotion of Indian dance internationally. Get more information on the life history of Anita Ratnam with this biography.Anita received formal training in dance from Adyar K. Lakshmanan. Later, she enrolled herself in Rukmini Devi Arundale's 'Kalakshetra' for a Postgraduate diploma in Dance. She is a trained Bharatanatyam, Kathakali and Mohiniattam dancer. Anita completed her Master's degree in Theatre and Television from the University of New Orleans. Then, she worked as a Television Producer in the United States for a period of approximately ten years. As an appreciation of her work, Anita was nominated for the Emmy and Ace awards. Anita also made a foray into films and played the role of an antagonist in Rajiv Menon's famous movie, 'Kandukondain Kandukondain'.
Anita wrote Natya Brahman, a book for dance students, and also served as the editor and publisher of 'Narthaki', a directory of Indian dance. She is the Founder-Director of 'Arangham', an organization based in Chennai that is involved in the promotion of performing arts. She regularly takes part in dance and theatre seminars in foreign destinations, right from the Far East to Europe to United States. Anita is one of the main persons responsible behind the initiation of 'The Other Festival', held in Chennai every December for promotion of contemporary Indian dance. In her career of three decades, she has given over 1000 performances in 15 countries and made immense contribution in the field of classical dance.
Important Works 'A map to the world', with American poet Joy Harjo (1997) 'The inner world', with Pangea World Theatre in Minneapolis (1998) 'Daughters of the Ocean', with writer Shobita Punja (1999) 'Dust', with Mark Taylor of Dance Alloy, in Pittsburgh (2001) 'Vortext', with Canadian dance artist Peter Chin (2002) Honors and AwardsNritya Choodamani Award by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha (1996) Honored with the title of 'Kalaimamani' by Government of Tamil Nadu (1998) Media Achievement award by National Organization of women in New York (1991) Mahatma Gandhi Award for Cultural Harmony by US Government (1986) Lalithakalaratna Award by Sri Lalithakala Academy Foundation Trust of Mysore (2003) Natya Ratna Award by Sri Shanmukhananda Sangeeta Sabha of New Delhi (2003).
