CHENNAI: Anita Ratnam whose connection to dance stems from her mother’s unfulfilled dream to dance, believes that dance “called” her, an art form that she feels both personal and deeply rooted in her family history. “I think dance calls me rather than I went to dance and I was led to dance because my mother was not allowed to dance".
"So perhaps that was the door that opened because she wanted me to have the opportunity to dance,” she shares. Anita’s career as a first-generation professional dancer has been one of passion, persistence, and a deep commitment to the arts.
As a choreographer, writer, speaker, and festival curator, she has not only shaped her own artistic journey but has also championed younger talent, presenting over 250 artists throughout her 32-year-long career. This December, she brings to Chennai the exciting Kattam Katti, a performance by the UK-based Pagrav Dance Company that blends the traditional Indian Kathak dance form with contemporary elements.
With Kattam Katti, Anita hopes to introduce Chennai audiences to a new narrative, one inspired by the colourful, chaotic, and competitive kite-flying festival of Uttarayan in Gujarat.
For Anita, this production is more than just an artistic showcase — it’s an exploration of societal issues such as inequality and injustice. “Kites fly above borders, the borders that we make in our minds and that politicians divide us by land and geography. But it’s like above all these borders, our mind can be free and can fly above borders that are man-made,” she says.
The performance brings the excitement of Uttarayan to life through high-energy Kathak. The choreography by Urja Desai Thakore, the artistic director of Pagrav Dance Company, incorporates Kathak’s fast turns, lyrical beauty, and skillful technique while subtly introducing contemporary dance movements. “It’s not about blending.
It’s about how a dancer takes a certain kind of training, and in this case, it’s Urja. She’s Gujarati and she’s drawing from her cultural memory and her cultural geography, so she’s drawing from Gujarat,” Anita explains.
For Anita, the fusion of traditional and contemporary dance is not about diminishing the form, but about evolving it. “It’s not about blending. It’s about how a dancer takes a certain kind of training. Urja, in this case, has drawn from Gujarat, which is her cultural memory. It’s not a state-wide event in Tamil Nadu like it is in Gujarat. It’s about creating new artistic expression,” she adds.
The production features several scenes and episodes within the 55-minute show, each portraying the highs and lows of the kite-flying experience. Through miming and movement, the dancers convey the festival’s joyful exuberance as well as its deeper themes of social justice and human connection.
Anita also points out that Kattam Katti is more than a show — it’s an invitation for audiences to reflect. “It’s about asking questions: What are the choices we make? How can we free ourselves from the metaphorical strings that bind us?”
Although Kattam Katti has already had a successful run in the UK, where it was praised for its artistic and emotional depth, Anita is eager to see how Chennai’s audience will engage with it. “I would like them to come and watch. I would like them to be entertained.
I’d like them to have questions,” she says. “And I want them to know that artistic dance can be produced even from an everyday child’s moment of reflection. You can create from hopscotch. You can create from everyday games. You don’t have to wait for the larger mythological tales to emerge.”
With Kattam Katti, Anita hopes to engage a younger generation in the performing arts, offering them an exciting and accessible form of artistic expression that resonates with both contemporary issues and timeless cultural traditions. This high-energy production promises to be a unique opportunity to experience the spirit of Uttarayan through the lens of dance.
Kattam Katti premieres on December 4 at 7:30 pm at the Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall. Tickets are available on Tikkl.com, priced at Rs 300.