Dear Thillai

Posted by anita ratnam (59.144.24.95) on January 24, 2006 at 07:54:55:

In Reply to: Oh! Oh! Oh! :-) posted by Thillai on January 24, 2006 at 04:30:23:

I am enjoying the various comments on the site to my article about the season. The last time I checked, we were living in a democracy and it is wonderful that so many feel so passionately about dance, specially Bharatanatyam.
Regarding the quantity of DVDs, I would like to point out that there are too many artistes who are bringing out products without checking on copyright issues.. Music, lyrics,research and choreography are usually contributed by those around the dancer. Specially jathis which have become a speciality these days- mostly composed by mridangists and hence, unintelligible to most except to the composer.
Since India does not subscribe to the international copyright act and going to court is very long winded, we have a market that is so greedy for any product that whatever dancers put out will be gobbled up..priya, anita, muralidharan or who ever else.. since now, the DVD has become the virual guru!. I have refused to produce DVDs since the cameraman, editor,producer, distribution network is not to my satisfaction. The problem is with me knowing the medium sometimes better than the producers themselves.
Also my style cannot be taught or transmitted, having been developed by my own life experience. So bringing out product unless it involves my group work or my thematic productions did not make any sense. Mere quantity only feeds into the voracious NRI network which results in more students and performances..and the cycle goes on.. part of the phenomenal export market for Bharatanatyam. Something I would like to watch and not participate in. Something I have moved away from but view from a distance.
Thanks Thillai for expressing so well and thanks again for even comparing me to Padma. She is an icon.. weight, silver costume and all.. she is such a compelling performer.
It all finally boils down to a subjective aesthetics. What one sees on that one particular day.
After all my icons are from a different era. And most of you are in your 20s and 30s.

Keep the fires burning... all of you... and laugh.. life is so full of fun and good things..
take the work seriously.. not yourselves...

anita ratnam
chennai