Natya Kala Conference 2009 
Dec 26 - 31, 2009 Chennai 

November 27, 2009 

Theme: DANCE MATTERS! 
Convener: Ananda Shankar Jayant 
Venue: Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, 'Dr. Nalli Gana Vihar', 20, Maharajapuram Santhanam Road, T Nagar, Chennai 600017 

 

Special Evening performance : NATA SANKIRTAN of Manipur, 27 December 2009, 7.30pm 
By Jawaharlal Manipuri Dance Academy, Imphal 
Sponsored by Sangeet Natak Akademi 

Satellite activity: 

TWINKLE TOES: 29 December 2009, 3pm - 4.30pm 
A special afternoon of dance, for and by children 
Curated by Churchill Pandian 
Venue: Kamakoti Gana Mandir (Mini hall of Krishna Gana Sabha) 

COFFEE DIALOGUES 
Everyday post conference at venue 

ALL ARE WELCOME 

Convener's note: 
It is that time of the year again… The annual Marghazhi music and dance season will begin soon in Chennai. Programmes of music and dance by a galaxy of renowned, senior, leading, popular as well as upcoming artistes across the country make this festival a veritable Woodstock of the best in classical Indian performing arts with Sri Krishna Gana Sabha being a much sought after venue for both the performer and art lover.  

Seeking to take art beyond mere performance and understand the intellect, grammar and spirit of dance, R Yagnaraman, secretary of Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, started the Natya Kala Conference in 1981. Over the last nearly three decades renowned names from the firmament of dance, have been invited by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, to don the mantle of Convenor of the Natya Kala Conference for a period of two years, thus ensuring a scintillating variety of thought and approaches to dance research. Being invited by Krishna Gana Sabha to be the Convenor of the Natya Kala Conference for the years 2008 and 2009, was a great opportunity to integrate my art, academics, management and administrative training. 

Ramayana in Performing Arts, was the theme of the conference in December 2008, which explored  the interrelationship and mutual influence of text, folklore, tradition and performing arts of the Ramayana, and  has been hailed as the best ever Natya Kala Conference. 

While deciding on a topic for the Natya Kala Conference for 2009, it became a natural choice therefore, to have DANCE MATTERS! as the theme of this year’s conference. 

Today, the whole of India seems to be dancing! Dance, in all its multi-hued presence   has become a way of life. Yes, DANCE MATTERS! And it is time we bring matters related to dance centre stage. And thus this year’s conference is DANCE MATTERS! 
India today- A pulsating energy of the can-do spirit, a synergy of ancient India raring to walk hand in hand with a Young India – ready to take on the world – nay – ready to lead the world! An India – where competition is the new mantra, and excellence its hand maiden, standing on the cusp of a dazzling new era of growth and abundance in every field of human endeavour. An era quite propitious for art and artistes. Every dawn brings in a fresh new perspective, a rewriting of content, of redrawing of structures and a rewiring of codes! An exhilarating freedom, to scale personal levels of creativity and expression. A new and free market place that is open to new explorations and ideas, new contexts and yes, new challenges. Yet, it is this very market place of liberalization and globalization that brings the inherent classical dancer in conflict with a newly evolving and all encompassing mass culture. 

This year, the Natya Kala Conference with DANCE MATTERS as its theme, will look at dance in India over the last 60 years, and its place in the India of tomorrow. It will bring to the fore, all matters related to dance as well as reinforce the message that dance really matters to humanity. As we race towards a global and connected world, it is all the more imperative now that we preserve and nourish every aspect of our rich cultural heritage. The conference has been mentored by Anita Ratnam, and the title is courtesy Ashish Mohan Khokar. 

The conference is open to all and seating will be on a first come first served basis. Be there, if you are an art lover or want to catch the best of India’s dancers, scholars, musicians and thinkers, while they come together to say DANCE MATTERS! 

Read Ananda's interview  
 

About NKC 2008 
"The NKC 2008, was a benchmark of NKC itself! From its topic to speakers, to participants to its organisation - it showed class and substance. A team of devoted dancers associated with the dynamic dance talent ASJ (Ananda Shankar Jayant) did all to make the event memorable. It will go down in dance history as one of the best organized and convened NKC's." 
- Ashish Mohan Khokar, scholar and Editor of Attendance - The Dance Annual of India 

"The Ramayana conference was a breakthrough in more ways than one."  
- Anita Ratnam 

"Full credit to the convener of the year Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant for so beautifully weaving together the countless threads of the Ramayana in the countless patterns of Indian performing art forms and bring out a "Viswaroopa Dharshana" of our country’s most revered, most ancient, and most popular scripture. This conference was an amazing amalgamation of artistic spectrum transcending all borders and boundaries of states and countries, languages and culture."  
- Rajee Mani, a regular attendee at the conference