Revathi Ramachandran to be Kalakshetra director

After a gap of nearly 10 months, Kalakshetra Foundation will have a new director. Dancer and choreographer Revathi Ramachandran has been chosen to be the director of the 82-year-old prestigious institution.

The position remained vacant since July last. Danseuse Priyadarsini Govind was the previous director of the institution. A follower of Melattur style of Bharatanatyam, Ms. Ramachandran is a disciple of Mangudi Dorairaja Iyer.

N. Gopalaswami, chairman of the governing board of Kalakshetra, said the Ministry of Culture chose Ms. Ramachandran for the position. “Once gazette notification is issued, she would take over as the director for three years,” he said. Some members of the Kalakshetra Alumni Association noted that there must be more representation for the alumni in the administration. The association has over 400 members spread across the world.

Bharatanatyam dancer and civil servant Ananda Shankar Jayant said the involvement of alumni would be good for any institution.

It would be better to involve an alumnus who would have a better understanding of the ethos and style of the foundation.

Expressing her concern over the functioning of the institution without a director, Leela Samson, former director of Kalakshetra, said it was not good for the institution to remain without a director for a long time. The institution was without a director for over one year after her tenure before Ms.Govind took over.