Choreographer Anita Ratnam agrees with Bali's point of view that if, as a woman and a citizen, she wants to express her distress and rage at the way of the world she would rather do it outside the realm of Bharatanatyam.

"Classical dances are rooted in a time when society was not complex and lines were clearly drawn between classes, castes and genders. That world is gone but classical dances continue to resonate those social structures, " she says explaining the disconnect.

There is more scope for, say, dance theatre to connect with social upheavals than Bharatanatyam, she says. "You can't stand on stage, in a typical dancer stance, attired in silk and gold and talk angrily about AIDS and rape. It simply does not work to suddenly weave a campaign into a jatti. That would serve neither cause, dance nor activism, " says Ratnam.

She points out that it takes a backbreaking amount of planning, conceptualising and outof-the-box thinking to pull classical dances into contemporary themes. But that will fall into the category of dance drama with strong, spoken words worked around dance movements. Pina Bausch, she recalls, was one such dancer who could do so - have women lying still on stage and get a male dancer to do push-ups around the stage to indicate sexual violence and stereotypes.

Ratnam presented her curated show Epic Women during the season in Chennai, showcasing artistes' interpretation of legendary mythical and historical female characters. The stories of Yashodhara, Frida Kahlo, Draupadi, Kunti, Hidimba, Helen, Kannagi and Sita were told using classical dance only as a grammar.

American Carnatic, Chilean Odissi

Akhila Krishnamurthy, The Times of India, September 8, 2012