Gitanjali Kolanad

Gitanjali Kolanad was involved in the practice, performance, and teaching of bharata natyam for more than forty years. She performed in major cities in Europe, America and India, including London, New York, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Toronto, Tokyo, New Delhi, Bombay, and Madras. Her traditional performances were praised by critics, while her contemporary choreographic work won new audiences for bharata natyam. Her work was often multi-disciplinary, arising out of collaborations with artists from other disciplines: director Phillip Zarrilli, video/installation artist Ray Langenbach, poet Judith Kroll, violinist Parmela Attariwala, to name a few. Her performances incorporated folk and ritual forms of dance, theatre and martial art forms from South India. Gitanjali's short story "The American Girl" won second prize in the 2008 CBC Literary Awards. The story is part of a collection published in January 2011 by Penguin India. Her previous book, Culture Shock: India, published by Marshall Cavendish, is now into its third edition, and has been translated into Korean. She has written numerous articles on aspects of Indian dance for well-known Indian publications, such as India Magazine and Sruti. She co-founded IMPACT - Indian Martial and Performance Arts Collective of Toronto, which teaches the Indian martial art form of kalaripayat to at-risk youth. She developed a performing arts program at Shiv Nadar University and was 2016 Singapore International Writer-in-Residence at the National University of Singapore and The Arts House.