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.