Anita R Ratnam

Born on 21 May 1954 at Ambala in Haryana, Shrimati Anita Raajyalaxmi Ratnam learnt Bharatanatyam under Shrimati Rajee Narayan and Shri Adyar K Lakshman. Later, she obtained a Postgraduate Diploma from the Kalakshetra Academy of Arts, Chennai. She was trained in Mohiniattam under Shrimati Chinna Ammu Ammal, and Kathakali under Shri Balasubramaniam Warier. Shrimati Anita Ratnam has further studied physical theatre at Koothupattarai, Chennai; American Theatre at the University of New Orleans, U.S.A.; and Television production, writing and hosting at the Bombay Broadcasting, New York, U.S.A. She is a recipient of the Senior Fellowship from the Department of Culture, Government of India. Shrimati Anita Ratnam is an accomplished Contemporary dance-actor, whose career spans four decades and performances in thirty countries. Using tools of Bharatanatyam, theatre and other vocabularies of the Indian performing tradition, she has crystallized choreographic and theatrical works like Prism, Avani, A Million Sitas, Maalie, Ma3ka, Vaitharani, and Seven Graces; and presented them at prestigious festivals within the country and abroad including the events organized by Sangeet Natak Akademi. As a cultural entrepreneur, Shrimati Ratnam has founded www.narthaki.com, the celebrated Indian dance portal, and curated numerous festivals. She has received several awards from prestigious cultural institutions for her work in India and abroad. These include the Nritya Choodamani (1996) conferred by the Sri Krishna Gana Sabha; the Kalaimamani (1998) conferred by the Tamil Nadu Government; the Guru Deba Prasad Award (2013), the Viswa Kala Bharati (2013) conferred by Bharat Kalachar; and the Vishwa Kala Ratna (2017) conferred by the Milapfest, U.K. Shrimati Anita Raajyalaxmi Ratnam receives the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for her contribution to Contemporary dance.