A Delhi girl’s dance journey: Atisha Pratap Singh talks about Kuchipudi and her gurus

As Kuchipudi dancer Atisha Pratap Singh readies for her Rangapravesam, she shares with us her journey, her association with her gurus Raja, Radha and Kaushalya Reddy and her fondest memories of performing on stage.

Delhi girl, Atisha Pratap Singh has been learning Kuchipudi since she was a three-year-old. After embarking on her dance journey as a student, 14 years ago, she is ready for her Kuchipudi Rangapravesam (graduation), which will be held on May 15.

Atisha Pratap Singh has been learning Kuchipudi since she was three years old. Now, 14 years later, she is ready for her dance graduation, or Rangapravesam.

“It has been 14 years since I have been dancing with my gurus. It’s a graduation, that you have finally learned your basics. You are putting yourself out there in the world,” says the 17-year-old student of Kuchipudi exponents Raja, Radha and Kaushalya Reddy.

Even though she has performed on the stage several times, this will be her first solo dance performance. Ask about the challenges that came along her way, and she says: “As kids, you have no interest in dancing, you are thrown into it. My mom put me into dancing and initially, I didn’t enjoy it. But as I grew older, I started putting my heart and soul into it. I owe it all to my gurus. I wouldn’t have been what I am if I hadn’t got Kaushalya aunty’s scoldings,” she says with a laugh. Recalling her teacher Kaushalya’s inspiring words, she says, “She says that ‘You have to be a designer piece, and not an ordinary piece of cloth.’”

One of her fondest memories is of performing on poems written by former President of India, the late APJ Abdul Kalam. “I was three and I was the youngest dancer on the stage. He gave me a bouquet of flowers and when I went backstage, I started screaming that I won,” she recalls.