Anita Menon (Portland) is an accomplished Bharatha Natyam dancer, choreographer and Nattuvanar (cymbal player). She founded the Anjali School of Dance to provide training in the ancient Indian Classical Dance form of Bharatha Natyam.
Bio
Anita Menon is an accomplished Bharatha Natyam dancer, choreographer and Nattuvanar (cymbal player). She founded the Anjali School of Dance to provide training in the ancient Indian classical dance form of Bharatha Natyam. Menon grew up in India and immigrated to America in 1994. She learned Nattuvangam from her guru, Chitra Visweswaran, and she works hard to teach the next generation. Nattuvangam (cymbals) are played to conduct the live orchestra that accompanies Bharatha Natyam dancers. The cymbals maintain the rhythm for the dancer as well as for the drummer and the rest of the orchestra. Menon notes, “Being a choreographer has helped me be a better Nattuvanar and conversely being a Nattuvanar has helped me be a better choreographer....Learning to play the cymbals, also requires the artist to know the words and meanings of the songs, the math calculations within the framework of each song, and also to have an extremely strong sense of rhythm. Knowing all of these makes me a sensitive artist that can guide the dancer and the orchestra to bring out the best in each of them.” Menon was the recipient of the Regional Arts and Culture Council’s 2014 Performing Arts Fellowship and was the first Asian-American to receive this honor. She’s passionate about giving back to the community and serves on the boards of the Northwest Children's Theater as well as the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC).
