Dancing to the digital beat
Noted dancer and choreographer Anita Ratnam is reaching out particularly to young performers whose rise in the world of art is being challenged by the pandemic
Concerns relating to the pandemic have put a question mark over national and international gatherings and events and placed performing arts in jeopardy. Even though the restrictions have eased a little, performances in front of a large audience are still a distant dream for artistes. To overcome this situation, quiet a number of artists have taken to live video streaming their performances. In order to facilitate this process, the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) will feature a talk by renowned dancer Anita Ratnam on September 24th as part of its ongoing Utkarsh Series. The danseuse will discuss how to bring innovation in dance on a digital platform.
Talking about the session, the celebrated choreographer says “There are no art festivals, no conferences, no tours — everything has been cancelled or postponed. Where’s the dance in the era of the Coronavirus? Not in the halls or auditoriums. Now it is everywhere, if you have the facility to record and share it digitally. So this live talk is about how innovation, ideas and experimentation in artistic pursuit, when adapted digitally, can beautifully transcend all boundaries and barriers associated with dance as a genre. My message will be — stop worrying about the future and look around and use the available tools.”
Auditoriums and theatres will not be able to host programmes at least for the next one year, feels Anita Ratnam. “I would say, think about what can we do now. The old rules of performances will not work now. We have to think out of the box. I noticed that many dancers were taking to Instagram while performing from their living rooms. Observing their struggle to stand out with unique performances, in this session, I will share and encourage adoption of out-ofthe-box ideas for performers, helping them to think beyond a structured framework and understand the production value when a dancer is planning to create content for a digital audience.”
The contemporary and classical dancer also reveals that she will be sharing some tips on how to overcome the pressure that young dancers are facing at the moment. Anita Ratnam was one of the first to hold virtual performances on social media. As a cultural entrepreneur, she l a u n c h e d Narthaki.com, the celebrated Indian dance portal which evolved into an essential networking tool and is the go-to website for the dance community. Performing online will be a new experience for many dancers and Anita Ratnam’s session will give them valuable insights into how to approach it. Performers will get an idea of how to creatively conduct online programmes using a mix of household equipment and easily available software, create a digital auditorium that encourages monetisation, do smart choreography for the digital medium, and use immediate space to create content. The session is also aimed at motivating young people, says Anita Ratnam. “The younger generation is very impatient. They want to find out how to get back on stage and to get noticed and stay relevant,” she notes.