User:Kaberi

My full name is Dr Kaberi Chatterjee. I grew up in Rabindranath Tagore's home town of Santiniketan, West Bengal, India and now spend my time between Europe and Santiniketan. Since starting to dance at the age of 3, I have studied dance at Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, as well as continuing to perform (mainly Tagore dance and Manipuri dance, though I have also learned Bharatanatyam and Kathakali).

In October 2006, after 10 years of research, I completed my PhD thesis on the influences of different dance styles, both Indian and non-Indian, on the Tagore dance style. I originally graduated in Manipuri dance, won the Indian national scholarship for Manipuri dance in 1994-5 and also have a Masters degree in Manipuri dance.

In February 2007, I danced the role of Shyama for the film version of Rabindranath Tagore's 1939 dance musical Shyama, along with teachers and students from Visva-Bharati University. One of the two main objectives behind making the film, which I also produced, was to create an authentic record of this dance form, which is in danger of being altered beyond recognition by more contemporary influences. The other objective was to raise international awareness of Rabindranath Tagore, which is no longer as high as it was in the first half of the 20th century, particularly after he won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

In July 2008, Kaberi's Indian dance workout was released on DVD. It is an interactive workout DVD based on Indian dance movements and exercises, as well as yoga. The film version of "Shyama" was completed in September 2009 and had its Asian première at the 2009 Kolkata Film Festival.

I originally became a Wiki contributor in November 2005 after noticing that there was no article about Manipuri dance. I have recently completed the book Tagore dance based on my PhD thesis. It is due to be published in 2010. For further details see my website.