My Journey of Dance

                      What is the beauty of dance? The expressions, the bodily movements, the elegance and so the list goes on. That’s how an Indian classical dance 'Bharatnatyam' gets its basic essence from. Right from the beginning music always had a special place in my heart. I would dance my heart out for hours. I still have the recording of me dancing on an Aarti* with red dupatta* on my head: considering them as my long hair and assuming ‘audience’ on the chairs. Truly! Childhood is filled with so much of innocence. So, that was my 1^st, imaginary stage performance.

                My mother loved to see me so engrossed in dancing. And that’s why we decided to join a dance class. I still remember a woman standing on the door to welcome the newcomers. Her face was lightened with a broad smile; her large dark eyes were glittering as she called us in. She was my Guru (teacher): Snehal Phatak-Kalamkar. We call her ‘Tai’*. That day she held my hand and has not left ever since.

                  The dance class was like a Gurukul* always filled with girls rehearsing, seniors teaching juniors, girls practicing the taals* and learning. It was my favorite place to go; and seeing me enjoy dance, was my mother’s favorite thing to do so, she too joined dance with me. Coming from the village region they (my mother and her siblings) were deprived of the art related amenities and so, the joy on her face of ‘better late than never’ was so satisfying.

                Stage fright is one of the many fears that children now-a-days have. Tai used to arrange entire class program once in a year. And so even the children would overcome the stage frights and the parents would enjoy watching them on stage. The practices for the program would begin months before.  Like every other 9 year old kid, I had this fascination of being in a lead role. And at that time the theme was Shiva- Parvati*. I had got the role of lord Bramha* yet I yearned for the role of king Daksha* who had comparatively more importance and time on stage. I did get the role but after so many years I realized that it is not about how much time you play the character but about how beautifully you can convey it to the audience.

Dance has taught me a lot. It has helped me grow into a better person.

                 “Taiyya- tai. Sit more in the ayata* position. Keep your hands straight.” were the words of Tai trying to perfectionate every step. Everyday same instructions to which I just used to neglect. As I exalted from a junior to senior dancer there came a time when once I had to take the class. I was so excited with the thought that the girls would dance as per my instructions. How cool would that be! The class began with the first batch of the youngest girls. And to be honest that was the hardest one. Teaching every step again and again, making them listen to you, explaining everything in the simplest way possible and controlling rage when every time they go wrong. Then it struck me that being a teacher is all about having patience and how did Tai managed to have patience straight away for 4-5 hours? That’s an amazing value teachers have which actually takes years to build up and is taken for granted by us. That day teaching them I realized what patience is and also the importance of perfection. Tai always says “when we teach others, we learn twice and also try to perfectionate ourselves.” True, right?

It is difficult for us to be completely perfect, but doing what we love to do perfectly, is a step that we take towards making ourselves perfect.

              Then after 10 years of perseverance came the time of Arangetram which is the most prestigious program where a dancer displays her skills for 3 hrs. But no journey is easy and so wasn’t mine. Want to experience this journey? Do stay tuned for the next blog.

 This blog is specially dedicated to my guru Snehal Phatak-Kalamkar (Tai).

Aarti*– Indian recitation of holy verses.

Dupatta* – long piece of cloth like a stole.

Tai* – used for calling elder sister. Here (to address a teacher)

Gurukul* ­– Ancient boarding schools where disciples used to stay with their teacher work for them and earn knowledge.

Taal* – Rhythmic beats given my hand to ensure the accuracy in dance steps.

Shiva-Parvati* – Indian god and goddess.

Daksha* – Indian Mythological character.

Ayata* – Basic Bharatnatyam position