International Dance Day: Dancers perform live at various events after two-year gap

Dance lovers were seen making a beeline for The Box in Kothrud where the 13th Prayatna Film & Dance Festival 2022, organised by Hrishikesh Pawar’s Centre of Contemporary Dance and the Avartan Dance Foundation

On the occasion of International Dance Day on Friday, dancers and choreographers were excited backstage at many of the auditoriums in the city as they were going to dance in front of a live audience after a gap of two years. International Dance Day was celebrated in the city with many dance studios and dance groups showcasing their skills by participating in various dance programmes in the city.

Members of Maargam Dance Academy perform during an event in the city, on Friday. (Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO)

From felicitating gurus who have spent years dancing and establishing a following to new dancers showcasing their skills, every dancer in the city was eager to demonstrate their dance progress.

At Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, the students of Sharvari Jemani’s dance company were listening to their guru Sharvari as she gave them last minute tips before their performance. Her students were given 20 minutes to put up a beautiful Kathak recital as part of the Nrutyotsav 22 where six dance institutes put up six different dance forms from Bharatnatyam and Odissi to Kathak.

“To present a choreographed piece on International Dance Day is a boon and an honour for my students. The only sad part is the lack of an audience to watch their performance. There are several programmes organised for dance and hence, the lack of a full house,” said Sharvari.

Tejashree Adige, dancer and organiser of the classical dance festival, said, “International Dance Day is an opportunity for choreographers and dancers to showcase their dance performance. As we are celebrating the silver jubilee of the Nritya Kalamandir Sanstha, which has trained many dancers, we have also given away awards and felicitated dancers wherein we gave an award to actress-dancer Sukanya Kulkarni for her contribution to dance.”

Latin American ballroom dancer Rocky Poonawala who has been promoting latin American dancing styles said, “Dance for me is God and everyone in the world should be dancing; it should be respected as god itself. It is a form of expression that brings people together.” The Rocky Poonawala Dance Academy held a special Rumba workshop free-of-cost to celebrate International Dance day.

Meanwhile, dance lovers were seen making a beeline for The Box in Kothrud where the 13th Prayatna Film & Dance Festival 2022, organised by Hrishikesh Pawar’s Centre of Contemporary Dance and the Avartan Dance Foundation, began with some renowned artistes from various cities such as Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Pune showcasing their artistry and sharing their expertise via workshops.

“This International Dance Day gives us an opportunity to showcase what choreographers and dancers have been able to put together after two years of Covid-19. We have artistes and pieces have been choreographed while the pandemic was on. These artistes have used their energy to create something very beautiful. There is a need for an ageing population to get involved in art and spaces need to be a little more inclusive, hence we have an open community class on Saturday for teachers, facilitators, Parkinson’s patients who will get together to create something exciting,” said Hrishikesh Pawar of Hrishikesh Pawar’s Centre of Contemporary Dance.