What happens when you dance totally? The dancer disappears in a total dance. That's my definition of the total dance: the dancer disappears, dissolves; only the dancing remains. When there is only dancing and no dancer, this is the ultimate of meditation - the taste of nectar, bliss, God, truth, ecstasy, freedom, freedom from the ego, freedom from the doer. And when there is no ego, no doer, and the dance is going on and there is no dancer, a great witnessing arises, a great awareness like a cloud of light surrounding you".
OSHO
ANUREKHA GHOSH
Classical Kathak Dancer, Choreographer
Artistic Director of Anurekha Ghosh and Company & NATMANDIR
A painter, A writer, A photographer……….
Anurekha Ghosh is one of the finest internationally acclaimed award-winning Indian Classical Kathak dancers whose performance has been recognized internationally. Her technique and style is a combination of “tradition and modernity”.
TRAINING AND LINEAGE
Born to a new generation of dancers and choreographers, Anurekha Ghosh, MA in Choreography and Performing Arts from Middlesex University, UK, is a ubiquitous name in the world of North Indian Classical Kathak Dance .Anurekha has been trained in classical Kathak dance, specializing in the Lucknow School or Gharana since the age of 4 ½ years under the guidance of Smt. Meera Majumdar and Smt. Mousumi Sen in Calcutta, India. Anurekha moved to the United Kingdom in 1992 and took further training in Kathak with Shri Pratap Pawar. She received extensive training under the renowned Kathak exponent, choreographer and teacher Nahid Siddiqui from Pakistan with whom she has also extensively performed. She has learnt the art of Kalaripayattu, a South Indian Martial Arts at CVN Kalari, Kerala under Guruakkal C V Satyanarayanan. She has also taken training in Western Contemporary Dance, Ballet and Yoga. Anurekha receives ‘talim’ in the rhythmic intricacies of Kathak from the renowned tabla maestro Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri and is training in vocals, specializing in Bengali songs and Rabindra Sangeet from the living legend Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta.
ARTISTIC AESTHETICS AND BELIEFS
Anurekha has been experimenting with the Indian classical dance form Kathak through extensive research and development. Her aim is to create a dynamic dance and musical language which is strongly committed to traditions but is also, intelligently in sync with the times. She seeks to articulate meaningful expressions which are spiritual, beautiful, fresh and at the same time, innovative and individual.
Anurekha was declared to be the winner for the awards for Arts & culture category presented by the Asian women Achievement Awards, sponsored by Lloyds TSB Bank and BBC Asian Network. She received The Lisa Ullman Scholarship for Dance and Movement and was selected as the Best choreographer for The Place Choreodrome at The Place Dance Theatre UK. Anurekha received the Nritya Shiromani award and Naatyasaaradhi award, Natya Damru award, “Tujhe Salaam” award by ILEAD (Indian Institute of Management) on the occasion of International Women’s day 2014 and Nritha Vilasini Award, World Dance Day award 2014.
Anurekha had the opportunity to collaborate and work with numerous world renowned choreographers like Padmashree Kumudini Lakhia, Akram Khan, Nahid Siddiqui, Shobana Jeyasingh, Aditi Mangaldas, Mark Baldwin, Andre Gingras to name a few.
Anurekha has performed in the major venues and Festivals as a soloist or with her company productions in United States of America, Canada, all over Europe, India, Estonia, Japan, Pakistan and the UK, which includes Madission Square Gardens - New York, Royal Opera House, and Royal Festival Hall – London to name a few. In 1995 Anurekha toured USA with the renowned legendary playback singer Ash Bhoslee, dancing along with her live singing to her gazelles. In the year 2005 Anurekha performed with the legend Pt Ravi Shankar and his daughter Anoushka Shankar in the Festival of FEZ in Morocco.
Performances in FILMS and TELEVISION
She has danced in the Michael Howell film “FRANKENSTEIN” choreographed by Mark Baldwin, screened on BBC 4 in March 2003. Her performance is also featured in the film THE SUFI WORLD. She has given many performances on BBC, Channel 4, French Television, and Indian Television. BBC world has televised her classical Kathak solo performance of Festival of FEZ in a programme called DESTINATION MOROCCO. Her recent work is in the film OUR DESTINY (A dance film produced by Arts Council of England).
Being the artistic director and choreographer of Anurekha Ghosh and Company in UK and NATMANDIR in Kolkata, Anurekha shares her time in UK and India, teaching many young students across the world, propagating Indian Culture, creating a centre of Artistic Excellence in the traditional Gurukul System, creating a Platform for Living Legends and upcoming Performers, to reach out as a Cultural Ambassador for the needy, the unreached and the uncared for.
As a social activist, Anurekha has been whole heartedly connecting dance with burning social issues. Last year she created a dance production titled “A Letter to the Mother from the Womb” which carried a powerful message against female foeticide. Anurekha has been connecting with several NGO’s caring for mentally retarded children, trafficked girls, Cancer survivors. She has been imparting dance therapy training to the beneficiaries from the NGO’s. Recently she has choreographed and directed two productions – Rabindranath Tagore’s Chandalika ( The Untouchable) and YA Devi Sarba bhuteshu (manifesting the facets of female power) and this was performed by 22 trafficked girls from NIJOLOY Home who have gone through extensive training with Anurekha and her team.
Anurekha is hugely passionate about singing, painting, writing and photography. She holds a high first class MSc. In Mathematics and Computer Science from Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London.
“Anurekha showed us her usual power. As soon as she steps onto the stage, you know that you are about to witness something special… yet another wonderful evening entertainment, an ambitious work, executed with aplomb.”
Ballet Magazine, UK
“As for the evening of Saturday it opened magistralement with the Indian dancer Anurekha Ghosh. The audience succumbed quickly to the magic, the charm and the sensuality of Kathak Dance. Poetry impressed of Love and Passion. ”
La Tribune, France (Festival of FEZ, Morocc)