P r e s s   R e l e a s e                                     The 19th Natyanjali Festival at the Precincts of the temple of lord Chitsabhesa, at Chidambaram, was a soul stirring experience.... Rani Karna, an exponent of Kathak and founder- director of Samskritiki Shreyaskar of Calcutta, gave a fine exposition of the Jaipur and Lukhnow Gharana, bringing forth a beautiful blends of both. Rani Karna commenced.. With Chatushpadi.. in praise of lord Krishna. This was followed by her song glorifying the power of Chakrayudha of the Lord, beautifully illustrated by this veteran artist... Taal Dhamar was a lively piece rendered by the students of Rani Karna, revealing the lilting rhythmical nuance of Kathak dance... Focussing on the mimetic aspects of Kathak were the other numbers - addressed to forms of Shiva... which filled the atmosphere with vigorous, sincere offering by the main artist and her skilful disciples. The Kathak ensemble had fine orchestral support. - Nandani Ramani The Hindu, Chennai The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and ABHAI presented an evening of Kathak dance by Rani Karnaa and her deciples recently.. In the performance [Rani Karnaa] presented a new repertoire to present both the traditional and the innovative... With Karnaa doing the invocation.. displaying delicate movements, the evening warmed up to the energy and the sincerity of her students dancing.. The dancers covered the stage with perfect sequences of movements, and froze in poses with precision... A change from the usual was a Jugalbandhi between Sitar and Dance.. Of particular grace was the movement of the peacock.. The theme of Krishna and the maidens playing holi literally transported the viewers to experience a merry springtime... The well-tuned dancers pirouetted across the stage with ease, stamped their feet in perfect unison and held their poses with assurance. the Ardhanareeswara dance [was] skilfully composed for two dancers. The concluding elaborate dance - Dashamahavidya - unfolded the ten forms of Devi.. The entire company of dancers, led by Rani Karnaa, performed this with interesting motives and delicate formations.... Karnaa's approach to Kathak proved to be fresh, both in choice of repertoire and concept.. Her institution - Samskritiki Shreyaskar, is achieving success in keeping the art of Kathak alive and well in Calcutta. - Lakshmi Viswanathan The Hindu, Chennai ... Rani Karnaa's dance academy, Samskritiki Shreyaskar of Calcutta, treated the Rasika's of Delhi to a rich assortment of Kathak dances.. More than a dozen were danced.. without any loss of figural grace or rhythmic accuracy... I found the following three details admirable: the collective posture which mark the close of the Tala Vividha; the terminal heavenward Namaskara of Surya-Dhayana; and, again, the close of Ardhanareeswara... - Dr. S.K.Sexana Sruti, Chennai Kathak idioms were applied by Rani Karnaa to present Hori Khela against a Rajasthani backdrop. The palace background provided room for a beautiful setting. Rani Karnaa as a director, choreographer and principal corrector staged the ballet in pure Kathak. She designed a tapestry of dancers to underline the movement of the story. The recitations, music and dances within the parameters of Tagorean style were convincing. - Sandhya Sen The Statesman, Calcutta Nritya Sandhya Anant Yatra, presented by Samskritiki Shreyaskar at G.D.Brila recently, was a series of group and solo dances in Kathak, Manipuri, Odissi ... The presentation of the episode Sitaswayamber from Tulsidas' Ramayana was a neat production and participants skilfully expressed the theme in dance mime.... The two Kathak dance group items, one composed to the Tegorean song 'ananda dhara bahichhe bhuvane' and the other Varsha Aagaman set to raag Mian Ki Malhar, were enjoyable choriographic work of Rani Karna's. - N.K.Sivasankaran The Telegraph, Calcutta