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ANITA SAYS..... June 1, 2026 I do not love you with my heart and mind, I love you with my soul, In case my mind forgets and my heart stops. - Rumi  May was a series of immensely theatrical spectacles. And none were about dance! I will, of course, blend my month of observations and reflections into our world of dance, but not before casting a wider lens on the very idea of PERFORMITIVITY that has permeated every sphere of our waking moments. I begin by converging the three grand events of Fashion, Sports and Politics. While they may represent entirely different worlds, in May, all three genres demonstrated a remarkable convergence of productivity, performance, precision and theatricality. Each became a grand stage where discipline and spectacle fused in ways that rivalled the dazzle of Broadway and the excesses of Las Vegas and Bollywood. FASHION AS (PERFORMANCE) ART  Beyonce and Rihanna at the MET GALA 2026 The MET GALA in New York City has evolved far away from its early intent of a charity event. Today it is a carefully choreographed global production that involves hundreds of creative hands, eyes and bodies who work alongside media organisations with military precision. Every gown, entrance, shoulder lift, smile and strut is carefully constructed for maximum impact and immediate digital circulation. Celebrities ascending the museum stairs perform like actors and dancers entering centrestage before a worldwide audience. This year's theme FASHION AS ART created a series of visual storytelling that dominated international media and social platforms. POLITICS AS THEATRE  Joseph Vijay And then came the Assembly elections for Chief Minister in my home state of Tamilnadu. A hugely popular film actor, Joseph Vijay, a political novice, swept the polls. The campaign was conducted online, complete with film "punch" dialogues, fist pumps and his signature "namaste" gesture held over the head. The crazed fans, one even immolating himself, created an unstoppable tsunami that decimated the opposition. The deeply theatrical event was conducted largely on social media, with choreographed messaging, branding, music and emotional crowd engagement. As a novice candidate, Joseph Vijay, already a huge mega film star in Tamilnadu, appeared like a consummate performer commanding his mass audience. SPORT AS SPECTACLE  Aryna Sabalenka  J Fonseca  Naomi Osaka Then came the annual French Open tennis tournament where theatricality emerged through athletic excellence and emotional intensity. Players entered the arenas to thunderous applause much like prizefighters of headline performers. The tournament's aura, combined with the elegance of the Paris backdrop, put Roland Garros on par with Las Vegas shows where emotion, timing, pacing and unforgettable moments captivated audiences. What united these three strands was their mastery of presentation and execution. Fashion, Politics and Sports, all three showcased human ambition transformed into performance art. We, as audiences, were no longer passive spectators but were actively consuming experiences carefully crafted to inspire awe, emotion and conversation. How does Dance and the Live Arts even begin to compete or hold its own alongside this behemoth? How can the solo dancer, trained for years in technique and artistry, even begin to dream of a return to a time of sophistication and complexity in SIMPLICITY? FUSION and Con-FUSION-ANANYA "ANYAAYAM" It was in the month of May that the spectacular film MICHAEL released. A searing look at the genius and unique talent of musical artist Michael Jackson, the film featured Jafar Jackson, Michael's nephew, playing the role of his iconic uncle. The film then generated a slew of Instagram reels featuring Indian dancers, mostly in traditional costumes, dancing to Jackson's catchy tunes. In most cases, the Indian dance reels were on point - good technique and certainly a success in terms of engagement farming. But, the larger question is, why wear the traditional Bharatanatyam costume for a pop song? Why not try a hybrid Indo-western fashion take of blue jeans, kurti, loose hair, jhumkas? Why misrepresent the classical dance costume for a Gen Z REEL MOMENT? Many years ago, there was a furore when Odissi dancers, all dressed up for a classical performance, were filmed before the Konark temple Sun Wheel performing to Ed Sheeran's "Shape of you". The traditional dance costume carries layers of meaning and intention. From the hair ornaments to the ankle bells, every piece bears the history of the form. To mangle it to suit a temporary fetish is disrespectful.  Ananya Pandey To add insult to injury, the pathetic dancing of Bollywood actress Ananya Pandey in her latest film "Chand Mera Dil" drew the ire of many of our community. Wearing a Bharatanatyam costume, bells and all, Pandey delivered what was termed a "fusion performance". It was jarring, badly choreographed and filmed. In an X post, I had called it akin to a "wedding sangeet filmed during a mild earthquake." The choreographer and director are certainly to blame but making excuses for a very poor on screen performance does not absolve the attitude of mainstream film makers and film dance choreographers for trivialising India's classical forms. Well known choreographer Saroj Khan spoke at Chennai's Natya Kala Conference several years ago saying, "Today, one has to know only a few moves in Kathak and Bharatanatyam along with a couple of mudras to create an entire choreography!" However, Saroj Khan had actresses Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit to create her marvellous dance pieces. Both were trained classical dancers. From the heydays from the 1940s to the 1980's when master Natyacharyas choreographed for cinema, the use and presence of classical Indian dance has almost disappeared. With the heroine becoming the "item girl", all choreography has become reduced to camera edits and spectacle. Dancing skills in the classical genre is no longer mandatory for women to become heroines. Film choreographers are also trained in several dance forms - gliding from one to another within weeks. Ananya Pandey's misadventures are a case in point. And so was actress Rukmini Vasant's poor performance in KANTARA. The word ANYAAYAM came to mind. A Tamil word for "outrageous".  Joseph Vijay in a film dance sequence Film choreography in India is a genre unto itself. It can be stunning to watch. The new Chief Minister of Tamilnadu is a fantastic dancer and his movements on screen are smooth and athletic. Actor and choreographer Prabhu Deva was trained in Bharatanatyam by Guru Udupi Lakshminarayan. Today's film dance that attempts to portray classical dances falls woefully short of any measure of excellence. DANCE IN DANGER?  The temporary brouhaha about Pandey's performance may be silly, but this reveals a much larger threat to the classical dance system. There are huge issues to be addressed, right from the quality of teaching to the impatience and haste of the parents, the myopic lens of funding and gatekeeping. AND the dancers themselves. Exploitation, lowering standards, diminishing aesthetics and almost zero financial returns after years of striving for a horizon that is just a mirage - an illusion. If we do not crack the financial barrier for a serious dancer's future (apart from teaching) we are facing the rapid demise of Indian dance as we know it. It was with these mixed feelings that I took a week to retreat into nature and spend time away from digital distractions. Waking to the sunrise and the majestic mountain in Tiruvannamalai, a sacred geography to Lord Siva was life affirming. Taking lessons in pottery, feeling the wet earth manifest into a simple pot and sitting in quiet meditation, I was reminded about people talking gently, walking with purpose and eating quietly without phones next to their plates. This was the reboot that I badly needed.  The Dancing Girl from Mohenjo-daro On the first day of my return to the city rhythm, I watched a television interview with Pakistani dancer Sheema Kermani. In this, she has argued that the DANCING GIRL figurine from Mohenjo-daro that dates back to 4500 BC, resembles the stance of Odissi. Hence, she surmises, that Odissi may have preserved the movement traditions that are much older than the modern regional boundaries of South Asia. A storm has already started on social media fuelled by the "garam masala" of geo politics! Read the article: A masterclass in cultural piracy: Inside Sheema Kermani's attempted historical heist of Odissi dance form - Simran Sharma ACROSS THE WATERS  I was cheered up during my brief visit to the USA. Watching great contemporary dance in NYC and a gripping play in Los Angeles. It was euphoric to enter THE JOYCE auditorium, now named after Tino and Rajika Puri. An enduring testament to the couple's generosity towards the city's art centres, especially dance. I also met with several Indian dancers on both coasts. The good news is that many are on the track to receive their US Green Cards, being approved in the special talent category of EB-1. To have more and more India born classical dancers find recognition and acceptance of their hard work and talent in a very competitive and crowded field is encouraging. Many dancers have discarded the idea of dancing in India to gain validity. However, the majority of the Indian dancers in the USA are still viewed through the lens of "exoticism", "ethnic" and "the other".  We welcome the launch of AAHA, the new channel dedicated to the best of Indian classical dance. ideated and curated by Aravinth Kumarasamy, Director of Apsaras Arts, the first season features many renowned artistes like Dr Padma Subrahmanyam, the Dhananjayans, Priyadarsini Govind, Rama Vaidyanathan, Vidhya Subramanian, Anjana Anand, Hema Rajagopalan as well as trailblazers, rising stars and ensembles. The ambitious dream is to create a Netflix style streaming service dedicated to the best of Indian classical dance. We wish AAHA the best and hope the global dance community responds with enthusiasm. The conversation with Aravinth will be released on the NARTHAKI SPOTIFY channel soon.  June is PRIDE MONTH and at NARTHAKI, we are proud to be an ally of the community. Beyond alphabets, we believe, recognise, and acknowledge their enormous contribution to the cultural life of every community they live in. Kudos to all those creative hearts that beat to the love of life, rhythm and colour. The rainbow is just 7 colours. But life and any way of loving makes our world so much more vibrant! My thoughts may have included many areas that are not directly related to our core world. However, this monthly column as always tried to give readers a macro view of how our dance world negotiates a world where geo politics is playing a greater role in the way Dance is being produced, created, funded and presented. Dancers are the living testimony of the ultimate survivors. Come what may, dancers just persist. Through disasters, injuries and setbacks, the dancer continues to dream and dance. Perhaps the best analogy is the insect that is the image of the moment. The COCKROACH. The ultimate survivor! And so it goes! Until next month! Anita R Ratnam anitaratnam.com Connect with us on Instagram and Facebook     Post your comments |
