My Dance Journey

- My Gurus -

Dance

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Dance has been a constant in my life. What started off as a weekly class is now my passion and outlet. I started my bharatanatyam journey under Guru Swarna. Being a shy and quiet girl, I would never open up easily, but Guru Swarna created an environment that I was comfortable in, sparking my initial interest in dance.

Guru Gayathri taught me my first margam, introducing me to the base concepts of bharatanatyam such as nrtta, nrtya and abhinaya.

While learning under Guru Haritha, I took my first step into performing by taking part in events such as Academy Day, students night, and solo competitions. Through those experiences, I was also able to learn under the other Sifas Teachers - Guru Vikas, Guru Sreeliji, Guru Geethanadhan, Guru Nishanthie, who have been supporting me in each stage.

Guru Shalini nurtured my growing interest, guiding and supporting me through many milestones in my bharatanatyam journey such as the 8th year exam, my first solo performance, and now my arangetram - “Padham, a small step” into the beginning of a new journey.

Music

Music and dance are two art forms that I cherish. From a young age, I was introduced to these 2 forms, and eventually with time I came to realise the interdependence between dance and music.

I started learning carnatic music with Vidhya Aunty when I was just 3 years old. Aunty started off by teaching me small songs, making pattu class fun and interesting. We would often experiment with different styles, fuelling my interest in music.

It was when I started learning about talams in dance class, did it strike me that my music knowledge helped me understand the rhythm, the counting and the beats better in dance. Vidhya Aunty helped me open my eyes to the connection between dance and music. She would always tell me that learning, listening and understanding the songs will result in you enjoying the music, which reflects in dance as all feelings and expressions will come from within. This is an important thought that makes me so grateful to have learnt music with Vidhya Aunty.

Sakhis

Through this journey, I have made some of my closest friends. Amrita was my first friend in dance class. We started our bharatanatyam journey together and continued all the way through the 8 years at Sifas . Eventually, Aarthi , Advaitha, Amrita and I became a group, having all our classes together during the week, practicing and preparing for our exams and different programs (such as our iconic “Ambha Shambavi”) together.

Shreya helped me a lot through 7th and 8th year with her constant support and help during the stage exams, and now all her help for the arangetram. Aarthi, Amrita, Advaitha and Shreya have been my pillars of support at each stage of this journey.

Sifas Programs

Right from the age 6 , Sifas has given me various chances to perform. Starting off with students nights, I moved on to performing in academy days and other programs in Sifas. Sifas has given me the opportunity to develop myself as a dancer and I will always remain grateful.