A Student and a Teacher within me !!!

"So one fine day I decided to become a professional choreographer. Were my mom and dad happy after knowing this?" Of course!! They had expected this. They are the ones who actually encouraged me and are supporting me till date. The whole family is of artists including my brother. But even if they weren't artists, they would have supported me. (Love and understanding!!! 2 most important things I have learnt from them.)

And the rest is history… I started dancing, by taking my hobby, my passion a little seriously. I remember; my high school and junior college days were fantastic. There was no tension at all of earning my bread and butter. I was like a free bird - school / college and then dance class. That was my life and I was completely enjoying it. The love and respect for my art was immensely high and was day by day increasing. I had completed 5 years of intense training in Bharat-natyam and passed my Visharad with flying colours. I was lucky to get good teachers but may be not lucky enough to have their blessings afterwards. A misunderstanding and ego led to a bad ending between my teachers and me.

A horrible time again, I was one of the most looked upon dancers from my class, a good and obedient student and a crazy dance lover. But then I was, indirectly, not allowed to attend any class of other dance styles, if I was to continue with Bharat-natyam "there." And I never felt then or even now that I was / am just a Bharat-natyam dancer. It was one style I continued learning for 5 years, it was my base, a very strong base. But on the other hand I had no exposure to any of the western / even classical dance styles. And to top it all I was not allowed to teach. (HUH… can you imagine!!) I strongly oppose such "inhuman" rules… (haha…)  Arre, how was I then supposed to become a choreographer???

Anyway, destiny had some different plans for me. And … I will call this episode as 'Blessing in disguise.' I was freed from a prison, I felt. I was a free bird yet again. I started teaching not only bharatnatyam but bollywood and folk dancing too. I had started earning. Was that my point of concern? Was that my motive, to earn money? No, I was teaching just to know the joy of 'sharing your knowledge'. I was learning the process of how to teach. And trust me; it is an on-going process. Each student is different from the other. Though the matter remains almost the same, the process is different, unusual, and sometimes funny. 

 

 with my students at Actor Prepares

But only teaching is never enough. One has to keep learning. [They say once a teacher, always a teacher. I say different…!! Once a student, always be a student] :P … Especially learning an art form is an ongoing process. You are never too wise to know each and everything about an art. It keeps revolving around, gets better, finer, and deeper if you are really willing to pursue it.  Hence, I started learning again. And dancing, trust me, is so overpowering that I decided to learn as many dance styles as possible at least to a level where, if asked, I must be able to showcase it 'pro-phah-ly', and if possible; master it. So I started with Jazz, Indo-jazz, Hip-hop, Salsa, Standard ballroom, Latin-American Ballroom, Belly Dancing, Folk, and today I am proud to say that I have learnt over 25 dance styles in toto from some amazing and some weird teachers in last 19 years…! Whoa...! [ I know ;-)] and I am teaching most of these dance styles too.

So… am I like 'jack of all trades, and master of none'? Well, I feel that I am a master of all trades and master-blaster of classical dance. [hahaha…] I will tell you how. For instance, a chef has to learn to prepare all kinds of delicacies 'perfectly' and the base i.e. "Cooking" remains same, similarly, I have chosen choreographing as my profession so there is a need to learn various dance styles, but the base i.e. "Dance" remains same. But just like in chef's heart there is special place for his favourite dish, classical dancing will always remain special for me. And the latest addition to the list is Kathak- again an Indian classical dance form, again very beautiful and a graceful one. And may be I can say now that, after having so many 'Teachers,' finally I have also found a true 'Guru' in my Kathak teacher and a friend too.

Here, few questions arise. Is that really easy to learn one or more dance styles? Is it tough to learn 10 styles of ballroom dances or 2 styles of Indian classical dances and still manage to remember the differences, similarities, and theories? I'll let you know about this and more, but some other time.

But again, why am I sharing all this? Dance is not something just to talk about. Dance is to dance. So get up and dance and you'll know the reason behind my smile: D (haha...) Trust me, dancing will surely make you happier.

Keep smiling and keep dancing 

How it all started ..err.. rather 'when' !!!

This is the first article of my first ever blog... ooohhh goose bumps and bloody hell, I am damn excited. Too many ideas are rushing in my mind. I must have deleted / edited 20 odd opening line(s) just to make it more interesting, attractive or at least readable. (Haha...) Actually it's not the subject that I am worried about, but the depth of it. "DANCE" is a small word with big theory. Ohh… but phu-lease I am not going to act like a boring philosopher here. Its going to be a fun journey about my small but life changing experiences about dance, choreography, learning, teaching and ahhemm... okok you'll get to know it eventually. So yes, finally I have started writing my blog and so far I'm pretty comfortable and still excited. :D (Hehe…) 

Flashback….. It was somewhere around 1988-89. We (mom - dad - brother - and hardly 1 n half years old "me") were attending my Mama (mother's brother)'s wedding. It was during that time that my mom dad observed me dancing (stepping forward back and moving arms here and there) to the tunes of some traditional Hindu wedding music. My father distinctly remembers the shape of my feet when I was born and he then had exclaimed, "She is a born dancer." My mother had learnt few lessons of Bharat-natyam before my birth, so my mom feels that this can be the reason of my passion for dance. I still feel so funny when I listen to all these stories, as I don’t remember any of the incidents till I was 5. 

Approximately 4 years later… I was asked to participate in an annual gathering show of our co-op housing society when I was barely 5-6 years old and all we kids were very enthu about learning dance and performing on stage for the first time in front of the respected audience- our neighbour uncles and aunties. I somehow felt that the process was pretty easy to learn and fun to do thing, and I was getting a chance to dance in front of so many people and eventually get some "accolades." (YES, even at the age of 1, we all need those "good job-clappy clappy" for all our babba, aai, abcd, 123, mum mum, jump jump, etc) So yes, I was really happy after getting compliments for my first ever stage performance of a Koli dance (Indian folk). Well, that was the time I felt that… Wow… this is something I am really good at, must continue dancing forever and have career in it...!!

Hahaha… come on, you also know that I am lying. I was just 6, too young to take any kind of decision. Yet, I felt awesome and happy about dancing. And then as soon as I could hear some groovy music, I used to start dancing on it, mind you, I had almost started choreographing my dances. My Bharat-natyam training also started during that time. I was 9 years old and was completely in awe of this Indian classical dance. There was literally no one who could stop me from dancing, there was nothing that could keep me away from dancing - was there anything? Well, YES. A little something called "meningitis".[ Meningitis is a bacterial infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord (meninges).It can lead to brain swelling and cause permanent disability, coma and even death.] Though first stage, it was in Toto 7 days of painful treatment in the hospital, 1 month of bed rest, and 4 years of no excess physical activity (dance). Tough period for my family!! Not for me as I was still too young to understand the intensity of it…!! But imagine a dance lover not dancing for 4 years. It was bad… [By the way, on 8th day when I got discharge, I danced in the corridor of Nanavati Hospital. I guess I was mad… I still am very mad…] 

So anyway, I kept dancing a little at home on bollywood songs and stuff. Eventually, I again started my training in Bharat-natyam and started participating in school annual functions. I was asked by my school teachers to 'set dances' for annual gatherings. (The word Choreography was not in fashion then.) I was 14, mature enough to understand that science and civics are history, and geometry is all mystery... which I can never solve. Though algebra and languages were my favorites, DANCE was the only thing on my mind, which I enjoyed back then and I still do love it. And then one fine day I decided to become a professional choreographer. I told this to mom dad with full gusto. My friends were interested in becoming doctor, lawyer, teacher, computer expert, etc but I was super excited to tell about my career decision to my parents. 

Were they happy after knowing this? Was this a pleasant surprise or a nightmare to them? Again it’s a wonderful story, but some other time. OMG, I have so much to share with you- about my experiences, about different dance styles, my teachers, my students, performances, and lot more... pheww…!!! 

But again, why am I sharing all this? Dance is not something just to talk about. Dance is to dance. So get up and dance and you'll know the reason behind my smile: D (haha...) Trust me, dancing will surely make you happier. 

  Keep smiling and keep dancing