Monthly Newsletter
December 2020
ANITA SAYS.....
Heal yourself
With the light of the sun
And the rays of the moon
With the sound of the river
And the waterfall
With the swaying of the seas
And the fluttering of the birds
Heal yourself with mint, neem and eucalyptus
Sweeten with lavender, rosemary and chamomile
Hug yourself with the cocoa bean and
A hint of cinnamon
Heal yourself with the kisses that the wind gives you
And the hugs of the rain
Stand strong with your bare feet on the ground
And with everything that comes from it
Be smarter every day by listening to your intuition
Looking at the world with your forehead
Jump, dance, sing, so that you live happier
Heal yourself with beautiful love
And always remember
You are the medicine
- Advice from Mexican healer and poet MARIA SABINA
At the last month of the year, a year that has tested and tried us in
many ways, we have arrived at a SANKOFA moment. The mythical
symbol of the Akan people of Ghana - the image of a bird with its head
turned backward taking an egg from its back. It expresses the importance
of reaching back to knowledge gained in the past and bringing it into
the present in order to make a positive impact and to move forward.
What have these 9 months of lockdown and forced isolation given us? What
have we learned about ourselves and the art that we hold so dearly? How
have we faced the idea of our own mortality? How have our memories and
the past bolstered or weakened us? Read on...
ROVING EYE
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Following
the resounding success of Devi Diaries, ANITA RATNAM and NARTHAKI.COM
present ANDAL'S GARDEN - A series of curated performances celebrating
the spirit and poetry of the only female Azhwar, Godai. Don't forget to
soak in the ambience of Andal from Dec 16, 2020 for thirty days every
morning.
facebook.com/NARTHAKI, @narthakiweb @anitaratnam
NEO NARTHAKI presents DECODE, a two-week online campaign that unravels
Margazhi 2020, through behind-the-scene glimpses from daily lives of
performing artistes, and spotlighting contemporary issues in dance
through powerful narratives. The campaign will run from Dec 1 - 14,
2020.
Look out for engaging and thought-provoking content!
facebook.com/NeoNarthaki @neonarthaki
NATYARAMBHA
in association with NARTHAKI.COM, presents a widely appreciated daily
series of short videos, where talented young storytellers from across
the world present their KUTTY KAHANI - short inspiring stories from
India, using their own performative talent from Nov 20 to Dec 31, 2020.
Cheer on the young, budding artistes!
facebook.com/natyarambha @natyarambha @narthakiweb
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TA KI TA TOM
THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS has
sent eviction notice to at least 27 eminent personalities, including
dancers, musicians and other artistes to vacate the flats allotted to
them by the government in Lutyens' and South Delhi, by Dec end. The
artistes (Pt Birju Maharaj, Jayarama Rao & Vanasree Rao, Bharati
Shivaji, Kanaka Srinivasan, Dr. Sunil Kothari, Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar
etc) say that this sudden eviction notice is inhumane as it has come
amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Madhya Pradesh Govt has chosen Manipuri dancer BIMBAVATI DEVI for the
RASHTRIYA KUMAR GANDHARV SAMMAN in the field of dance. The award will be
given by the CM of MP at a ceremony to be held in Bhopal in December.
SASKIA KERSENBOOM's book NITHYASUMANGALI first published in 1987, has gone into its sixth edition in 2020!
Among the 2020 BESSIE nominees for Outstanding Performer is BIJAYINI
SATPATHY for 'Kalpana - the world of Imagination' by Kelucharan
Mohapatra and Surupa Sen, at A.R.T. New York Theatre for the Drive East
Festival.
METHIL DEVIKA has been included in the Panel of Research Guides for PhD
scholars of the Kerala Kalamandalam Deemed University for Art and
Culture.
VIJI RAO stars in COLORS OF TRUTH, an award winning documentary on abuse of Indian women, a short movie by Rabinder Parasher.
Arts writer SHYAMHARI CHAKRA has been granted a Film Research Fellowship
from the National Film Archive Of India, Pune under the Ministry of
Information & Broadcasting of Govt of India. The Fellowship is to
conduct research on 'Parallel cinema movement in Odia film industry.'
The Dance Studies Association awards the 2020 de la Torre Bueno® Prize
to ANURIMA BANERJI's DANCING ODISSI: PARATOPIC PERFORMANCES OF GENDER
AND STATE (Seagull Books/University of Chicago Press, 2019).
The 2020 de la Torre Bueno® First Book Special Citation reads: "HARI
KRISHNAN's 'CELLULOID CLASSICISM: EARLY TAMIL CINEMA AND THE MAKING OF
MODERN BHARATANATYAM' is an invaluable addition to scholarship on
Bharatanatyam in the crucial period between the 1930s and 1950s,
offering an impeccably researched and well-argued revision of the common
recounting of this phase of the dance's history which has it that
devadasis, if they kept dancing, went into film while Brahmin women
dominated the stage, and discourses on caste and morality kept the two
realms separate."
SHILPIKA BORDOLOI / BRAHMAPUTRA CULTURAL FOUNDATION have opened their
own theatre in Jorhat, Assam. Located in a quiet residential
neighborhood in the midst of a vegetable garden and made with bamboo and
hay, NOI has gathered and created a community of learners who work with
deep-rooted love for community participation and Art.
School children in the Tirunelveli area of southern Tamilnadu have taken
to the SILAMBAM, the martial stick fighting art of South India. The
leader of the movement to popularise this ancient art form is Sankaran
Asan and his family.
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OBIT
YOG SUNDER DESAI, founder of Indian Revival Group, passed away
peacefully on November 27, 2020, in New Delhi. He was 99.
Connected with the national movement, he ranks amongst the pioneers who
ventured into the world of Indian dance in the pre independence era. Yog
Sundar was born on July 16, 1921 in Limdi as the son of Darbar Gopaldas
Desai, Prince of Gujarat, but was brought up under Gandhian principles.
He learnt Kathakali, Krishnanattam and Mohiniattam in Kerala; in
Shantiniketan he learnt painting under the legendary Nand Lal Bose,
Manipuri dance from Guru Thambam Thamba, Kathak from Pt. Bhure Lal. He
began his dance career in 1945 and founded the Indian Revival Group in
1948. Yog Sunder devoted his entire life to the propagation of India's
rich cultural heritage - its folk & classical dance forms, regional
music & costume, mythology & literature.
Yog Sundar married Geetashri in 1965 and had a daughter Papiha, who is a
dancer and director of the group, and three sons Pallav, Pavan and
Prashant who also perform with the group.
A Life in Dance - Celebrating 99 years of Yog Sunder Desai
An extraordinary story of a prince of Gujarat: Dancer Yog Sundar
Yog Sunder Desai (1921-2020)
- Ashish Mohan Khokar
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LOOK OUT FOR
N°5 The Film - Chanel Fragrance
Chanel presents the N°5 film starring Marion Cotillard and French ballet dancer Jérémie Bélingard, directed by Johan Renck.
Burberry debuts a mesmerizing, modern take on 'Singin' in the rain'
- Ann-Christine Diaz
Under fashion brand's creative chief Riccardo Tisci, Megaforce directs fantastical sequence for the British clothier.
Dedicated to Mandolin Srinivas
Choreographed & performed by Sandhya Raju.
Once a dancer, forever a dancer...
NYC Prima Ballerina with Alzheimer's listens to Swan Lake and it all comes back.
Indian Dance on Ice
By the World Champion Denise Bielmann for the first time in 1988.
Music - Ananda Shankar, Choreography - D. Keshava
Odissi by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra
Baideshisha Vilasa - a Chanda by Upendra Bhanja.
Celui qui tombe (He Who Falls)
Dancers tumble in and out of love as the ground spins beneath their feet.
Nine dance moves inspired by 2020's chaos
Here are some iconic steps to celebrate the year with, from the "Can I Get Six Feet, Please" to the "I Miss Obama."
Still Point Expanding: A Six Part Elaboration
Directors: Maya Kulkarni & Sonali Skandan
Artistes: Sruthi Mohan, Parul Shah, Sreelakshmy Govardhanan, Jin Won, Sonali Skandan, Mesma Belsaré
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THE EASTERN EYE: COLUMN BY DR.UTPAL K BANERJEE
Virtual and virtuoso
In the online 16TH SANGAM FESTIVAL held from Nov 7 to 9, Ileana
Citaristi presented a mix of four hardy favourites resurrected from
earlier years, with three new items.
Virtual, with visual variety
Mahishasuramardini recorded between October 1-15 for Medwings
Nrityagamani and choreographed by Subhajit Khush Das, was inspired by
the hugely popular Akash Vani program with poetic recitations and
musical lyrics in Bengali and Sanskrit.
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