Kathak is not just a set of specific movements. It goes beyond that. It is a powerful medium of expression portraying content and narratives through abstraction and suggestive. It is a challenge and big responsibility for dancers like me to create unparalleled works and educate the audience and other artists about what true Kathak is and what its true essence and soul are.
1. Tell us more about your background and journey.
I come from a background of academicians and sportspersons. My Father is an accomplished M tech engineer from the IIT institute Powai (Mumbai) and he was also a National Kho-Kho champion in his college days. My Mother is a Badminton player. So naturally, I was inclined towards Academics and sports since my childhood.
At school, I was a sincere student and a topper in my class. I also trained in Badminton and swimming for a couple of years and tried my hand at badminton, appearing for district and state level matches. I can say that I was good enough but not excellent in sports. Apart from being immersed in studies and sports, I was always a major part of any Dance and Yoga related activities in school. I used to be a leader in these two presentations and I remember that our school used to win all the Folk Dance and Yoga competitions.
Sports and Dance both have vigorous physical activity and both require power, energy, and speed. But Dance also involves Grace, poise, and expression. And I remember I used to always be excited about Dance and all-around the year I used to totally look forward and eagerly await the annual dance showcase happening in School.
Now that I look back and think about all that excitement and happiness about dancing, I realize that Dance used to make me feel most comfortable, joyous, and free. I used to love the way my Body moves gracefully and it definitely gave me a liberating experience. As a child, I have always been reserved, extremely shy, and an introvert with fewer friends. But when it came to dance I literally used to own the stage and people used to watch me in wonder and ask whether I am the same shy girl. Dance gave me wings.
I used to be the best version of myself while Dancing and I used to express myself wholeheartedly through the dance medium. It became the language with which I could best communicate. One thing I noticed is that I never found it difficult to learn the dance moves and expressions. It used to come naturally. I also remember choreographing dances and performing in the annual Ganesh Festival organized by our society.
My parents used to love watching me dance and they always said that I always stood out over the other performers in the dance piece. But it never occurred to them or me (me being too young) that I have a niche for Dance and that maybe we should enroll our daughter into a dance class for serious training in Dance. Like other parents, they also pushed me into Academics and sports and were hoping I might pursue science as my career. No complaints about that as they were totally unaware of dance as a career option. But definitely, destiny had different plans for me.
2. When did you first decide you wanted to pursue dancing and how did you start?
I remember when I was 13 years old, my younger sister had participated in a folk dance competition in school and her teacher, noticing her grace, suggested my Mother seek proper formal training for her in classical dance. So I accompanied my mother to a dance class nearby to enroll my younger sister’s name. We didn’t even know whether it was a Kathak or a Bharatnatyam class and who taught there.
When I visited the class, I saw this beautiful woman, dancing and teaching the young students with such grace and beauty. That moment I felt that I should be dancing here and learning from her. Me being a shy girl I nudged my mother and whispered in her ear to ask the teacher whether I can join the class or whether it is too late for me as I am already 13.
My mother asked the Teacher and she smiled and said there is no age bar to learn Kathak and that I can surely join her class along with my younger sister. I was so happy and excited to start learning as soon as possible. And finally, there I was standing in front of the one and only Shambhavi Dandekar Tai, My Guru, my guide, and my biggest inspiration. While learning Kathak, my grasping capacity was real fast and I could do all the movements with ease without any struggle in understanding the style, the expressions, and Laya Taal concepts. It felt as if my body was just right for Kathak and Kathak was just right for me.
In the first 2 years of my training, my Guru Shambhavi Tai spotted a spark in me and she suggested my parents put me into the career of Kathak. But my parents were not sure back then and even I wasn’t, so I took up science after my 10th standard exams as I equally liked science. During my 11th, I had slowly started performing in small shows with Shambhavi Tai in her choreographies. But on the 12th, because of the hectic study schedule, I had to take a break of 6 months from dance.
That is when I started missing Dance terribly to such an extent that I started falling ill. I was studying sincerely but at the same time I was feeling claustrophobic and it felt as if someone had taken my breath my life away from me. I couldn’t bear the void created by a dance in my Life.
I then gathered courage and talked with my parents that I really want to dance and whatever happens, I don’t want to quit dancing ever. They then had a meeting with my Guru Shambhavi Tai and Tai briefed them about the scope of Kathak as a career and she confidently told them that she will teach me and make me able enough to excel in this career.
She also pointed out to them that how I have all the qualities of an ideal dancer and with proper guidance, I definitely will have a flourishing career ahead. Thanks to that day and to Shambhavi Tai, my parents were convinced and they allowed me into dancing. So even though I scored a good 92% marks in my 12th, and was easily getting admission for engineering or medical, I chose to apply for the bachelor’s degree in Kathak in the Pune University Lalit Kala Kendra.
I finally got selected and admitted to the Lalit Kala Kendra and thus my true journey in Kathak started. When my Father asked me what gift I wanted for scoring well in the 12th exams, I asked for a Tabla machine for my Dance Riyaz. He happily gifted it to me. And then there was no looking back.
I dedicated all my time and energy to learning from my Guru and doing extensive hours of Riyaz. My parents gave their full support to me but initially, they were a little skeptical and worried about the decision taken. But when they saw my first dance exam solo performance on stage, they were overwhelmed with tears in their eyes, and that day they felt that their decision in letting me dance full-time as a career was right.
3. When and how your teaching career started and when have you started performing?
Once I started doing my Bachelor’s degree in Kathak, I used to follow my Guru Shambhavi Tai everywhere like a shadow. Those were the golden years of my life. I used to do Riyaz with Shambhavi Tai. I used to observe and absorb each and every detail of the way she teaches, choreographs, and performs. I started assisting her in teaching when I was in the 2nd year of my Bachelor’s.
When I was in my M.A. years, Tai assigned me a separate batch of beginners for teaching. That’s when I started teaching under her guidance. Later after assisting Tai for almost 7 years, with Tai’s consent I started my own Kathak Institute named ‘Abhivyakti’ in the year 2010. It’s been 11 amazing years since I am grooming Kathak Students. I also have been teaching Kathak to students from abroad (US, UK, Germany) through online classes and tutorial videos.
My performing career started almost immediately after I decided of pursuing Kathak as a career. In my initial learning years, I performed in the group choreographies of my Guru Shambhavi Dandekar Tai. I was parallelly dancing solos in my Dance exams and solo dance competitions. I have won 1st place in many solo dance competitions.
The journey of true solo kathak performances began during my M.A. years when I got the opportunity to perform solo in the Panchatatva Festival in Andheri in presence of Senior Gurus, Padmavibhushan Pt. Birju Maharajji, Padma Bhushan Smt. Sitara Deviji, Smt. Asha Joglekar, Smt. Shashwati Sen, and so on. Since then I have been performing in many prestigious classical dance festivals and platforms in India.
Abroad I have performed solos in Michigan and California USA, in London UK, and in the University of Evora Portugal. I have been performing in all the major productions of my Guru Shambhavi Tai for almost 15 years. Due to my Guru Shambhavi Tai, I got the opportunity to learn from Guruji Taalyogi Pt. Suresh Talwalkarji.
I have been pursuing advanced training in Laya-Taal and its application in Kathak from Guruji Suresh Talwalkarji for the past 8 years. I have been choreographing and performing in his major productions ‘Taalmala’ and ‘Taalyatra’ in India and abroad. Past 6 years I have also started my journey as a choreographer and I have choreographed and performed traditional works as well as productions based on contemporary themes. So overall I have been actively performing in the field of Kathak for the past 20 years.
4. What are some challenges you have come across as a classical dancer?
The main challenge today for the dancers of my generation and future generations is to explore and innovate maintaining the authenticity of the Classical dance form. Kathak as a dance form has its own rich tradition flowing through generations.
This tradition has constantly been built healthily by the valuable works and contributions of so many maestros and senior Artists of Kathak. After learning and practicing Kathak for a span of 22 years and after knowing the borders of the form and its rich tradition, it becomes a great responsibility for Artists like me to expand the form carefully.
Exploring Kathak as a medium and expressing our own ideas and contemporary themes through it, is a challenge. The way our Gurus have set an example for us to follow, we need to set a good example for our future generations.
There are so many dancers out there who look at Kathak as just a style of dancing. They learn only the movement vocabulary of Kathak and end up creating pieces diluting the form. Classical dance forms in India are deeply rooted in our tradition and culture and have a strong base of Spirituality. The dance form is termed classical as it has an extensive science, with its own set of fundamentals, rules, and principles.
Kathak is not just a set of specific movements. It goes beyond that. It is a powerful medium of expression portraying content and narratives through abstraction and suggestive. It is a challenge and big responsibility for dancers like me to create unparalleled works and educate the audience and other artists about what true Kathak is and what its true essence and soul are.
One more challenge for a classical dancer in India is getting an ideal space for practice and teaching. A well-equipped space with a wooden floor is rare in India. If you find one, it is too expensive to hire. Also getting an ideal stage to perform is always a struggle.
I myself have performed in such horrible spaces where the stage is so hostile. You first tell the organizers about what kind of stage you need and then even after telling them a number of times when you reach there you see a nice soft carpet spread on the stage.
Sometimes the stage is so horribly built that it either is sloping or has nails in it which start popping up once you start dancing. The organizers and even a few nondancer artists are not receptive to the basic needs of the dancer. Forget about the other requirements like the infrastructure needed for Lights, sound, and other technical things. I guess this has happened till now as all the dancers have been just compromising and adjusting to whatever they get.
One more challenge which I faced was the knee and lower back injury due to the lack of knowledge of what kind of physical fitness is required for a Kathak dancer. Sadly there is no such kind of awareness in our Kathak Tradition. Any dance form has its own technique which includes the type of posture, the ways of moving the body and limbs, and ways of doing footwork.
It is very important to condition the body and prepare it for the style of dance to be practiced and performed. Proper warm-ups before starting the practice and proper cooling down the stretch after the practice are very important to avoid any injuries and to overcome the soreness in the muscles. Also, proper strength training with guidance is essential for all the dancers. So I and few dancers of my generation have started working on this recently which will definitely help us and the future generation.
5. Who is your favorite dancer and why?
I just cannot name only one Dancer. There are so many dancers whom I admire and who have been inspiring and motivating me through their incredible performances and path-breaking works.
- The first and foremost is my Guru Smt. Shambhavi Dandekar Tai. She is a versatile and amazing performer and an epitome of pure grace. She is an ideal Guru with unparalleled teaching skills. I have been fortunate to have got the opportunity to learn from her and observe her works closely for the past 22 years.
- Padmavibhushan Pt. Birju Maharajji, the doyen of Kathak is an inspiration to all the Kathak dancers all around the world. I simply love to watch the delicate aesthetics in his Kathak presentation. The rendition of each and every composition he dances is with such sensitivity, poise, and ultimate grace.
- Padmabhushan Smt. Kumudini Lakhia ji, a pioneer of Kathak choreography, transformed the presentation of Kathak with innovative ways for contemporary expression. Her creative vision in terms of choreography is unique and she has widened the borders of Kathak medium creating spectacular and awe-inspiring choreographies and productions.
- Smt. Aditi Mangaldas Ji's contribution to the field of Kathak has paved the path for aspiring dancers like me. The dynamism and virtuosity in her dance and fearless approach to look at the traditional art form with the modern mind are astounding.
6. Can you throw some light on opportunities one gets as a dancer?
If you are a hardworking and accomplished dancer, opportunities are bound to come to you. Dance is a multifaceted career and there are multiple options to choose from. You can be a performer, a choreographer, a teacher, a researcher, a composer, a dance critic, an arts manager, a dance photographer or videographer, a costume designer, a light designer, and so on.
- As a performer, there are opportunities to perform in prestigious classical dance festivals organized by different organizations all over India and abroad.
- As a choreographer, you can present your work on unique platforms which showcase innovative works.
- As a teacher, you can start your own institute as well as you can get impaneled as a dance teacher (Guru) on the panel of Universities offering dance-related degree courses.
- As a dance researcher, you can apply to study for Ph.D. in a certain dance-related subject.
- As a dance lecturer, you can first clear the NET examination by UGC and then get appointed to one of the Universities offering dance degrees.
- As a dance critic, you can write (previews, reviews, and articles) about dancers and dance concerts for the leading Newspapers, Dance magazines, and websites.
- As an arts manager, you can get a job at leading dance institutes in India and abroad.
All other allied fields are equally important because if all these facets like photography, videography, lights, make-up, and so on are handled by a dancer rather than just a technician, the output is definitely going to be different and nice.
Needless to say that you need to be well trained in Dance and in whichever allied field you choose.
7. What piece of advice would you like to give to Future and aspiring classical dancers?
- There are no shortcuts. You have to put in efforts and hard work with consistency.
- Discipline, Dedication, and Devotion towards your dance are extremely important.
- The process of learning is ongoing. So be a student all your life and do not forget to stay humble and grateful towards your Gurus and senior artists.
- Pursue your passion wholeheartedly and fearlessly. Always try and explore your own emotions, ideas, and thoughts through the Dance medium. But while experimenting and innovating with the form do not forget its roots.
- Dance is an all-encompassing Art. So constantly enrich yourself by learning, observing, experiencing all the allied performing and fine arts like music, painting, literature, poetry and so on which will eventually reflect in your Dance enriching it.
Classical Dancer & Performer | Choreographer & Teacher | Founder and Director of Abhivyakti School of Kathak
Interviewed By: Farhana Khatoon
.jpeg)
){kind=link}
0 Comments