Anusha Subramanyam

Anusha Subramanyam, director of Beeja. She is a dancer, choreographer, teacher and dance movement therapist and is seen as one of the most exciting exponents of Bharatanatyam working ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ of its tradition.

Beeja and Michael were honoured to be invited as part of Hearing the Voices of Creation-music at Windsor Castle November 4, 2009 where leaders of nine faiths met to launch their long term plans to protect the environment. This performance was created to celebrate their commitment, made in the presence of HRH Prince Philip & Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon. It included new versions of the Rig Veda, of the Buddhist story of the Monkey King, the Conference of the Birds, the Sikh evening prayer, and the Canticle of the Creatures. In each of this, nature itself is given a voice.. 
The Monkey King : There is a traditional Buddhist story of how the Buddha, incarnated as a King of the Monkeys, sacrifices his own life to protect many others. This story was danced at Windsor Castle in November 2009 at the launch of more than 30 long term plans by faith organisations to protect nature.  It is danced by the Beeja Dance Company, with Michael Ormiston composer and narrated by Sally Magnusson.
Hindu Dance of Creation There are moments in every faith tradition, where nature speaks. This dance celebrates the moment, in the oldest Hindu text, Rig Veda, when the universe comes into being. It was performed at Windsor Castle in November 2009 by Anusha Subramanyan, with music composed by Michael Ormiston as part of a series of performances celebrating the launch of more than 30 plans by nine different religious communities and leaders, to protect Creation. 
From the Heart

Anusha invited Michael and Candida Valentino to collaborate with one of her her new works. “From the Heart” which has been performed in London UK, (Rich Mix) and New Delhi and Chennai, India. This choreographic work challenges notions of normal & abnormal, drawing inspiration from Anusha Subramanyam’s therapeutic and creative movement work with people with physical and mental challenges. It is an exploration of the dance that they created, using movement that is raw and sincere – straight from the heart. Anusha also worked at the renal ward of the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where she used dance to engage with the children and their families, empower the children’s own movement to help them regain an identity beyond that of sick patients. The work uses the emotive and gestural grammar of Bharatanatyam, combining it with movement that is both contemporary and classical.
Music: Michael Ormiston, Candida, Alice Shields and TM Krishnan .

Nasat : 

Anusha’s performance begins with a work based on a Vedic text from Nasadiya Sutra, the 129th verse from the tenth book of the Rig Veda. This book speculates on the origins of the cosmos through a series of paradoxical dialogues and theological questions rather than offering definitive answers. …perhaps it formed itself perhaps it did not the one who looks down on it in the highest heavens only he knows perhaps he does not This piece was first commissioned by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, for ‘Many Heavens and One Earth’, an inter-faith summit at the Windsor Castle, celebrating ecology and faith.
Music created by Michael Ormiston. Lights and costume Vipul Sangoi 
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