| Folk Arts - Master Artist - Ratna Roy
Urvasi founder and artistic director Dr. Ratna Roy was born in Ranchi, Bihar, India, and trained in the Lucknow gharana of classical Katthak Dance from the age of four. She began studying Orissi with renowed Guru Pankaj Charan Das when she was in her twenties initially for rehabilitation from physical disabilities. Ratna became enthralled with this dance form and began applying herself to a deeper understanding of Orissi dance. She observed the stylistic growth of Odissi dance through the years of its rediscovery, as well as the Orissi Renaissance. Ratna went back to India on an American Institute of Indian Studies Fellowship in 1988 to research the indigenous theatre traditions of Orissa, for their influence on Orissi, as well as to investigate the spiritual fountains of the dance style. In 1989, she received the National Endowment of the Arts Choreography Fellowship and began following the footsteps of her teacher.
Physically, Orissi involves strong movement of the feet, which represent Mother Earth, while the upper torso moves fluidly, representing waves of the ocean. Orissi is performed as a rhythmic dance, and as an acting or storytelling dance in others. Roy’s choreography is mostly derived from the oldest traditional form of Orissi called Mahari, which depicts female characters and their narratives. Her choreography communicates the suffering and empowerment of women, as well as tells stories of underrepresented and voiceless peoples; minority groups during times of civil unrest.
Ratna Roy’s scholarly researches, as well as her understanding of the physical componenets of Orissi, make her an important factor in preserving Orissi’s heritage. The Mahari style is no longer known in most of India. Roy travels to India with a team of dancers to learn from the women and record the dance. She has performed in several countries, including India, Great Britain, the Baltics, Indonesia, Singapore, China, Philippines, Japan, and South Africa. Her continued preservation and performance work with the Urvasi Dance Company play a critical role in keeping the dance alive in India, and it has begun to make Orissi culture relevant in the United States.
Ratna Roy was a recipient of a 2007 Folk Arts Apprenticeshp grant. | |||
