Adult Dance Student

The Adult Dance Student

My continuing journey of lifelong learning

My Voice by Preethi Sriram

Within the Natya Shastras, a text about theater, drama and dance, one of the origin stories of how classical Indian art forms came to the Earth was that Dharma, or righteousness in the Earth, was in decline in Thretha Yuga, so divine beings known as Devatas beseeched the creator Brahma for a kridaneeyakam, or a form of entertainment for teaching Dharma. This entertainment would be like a medicine for the people so to help them understand the concepts of Dharma.

As a child, I attended shows with my parents during cultural festivals like Pongal, Ugadhi and Deepavali where I had the opportunity to watch various cultural performances from various parts of India including kolattam or stick dance, Garba/Raas, and bhangra. I even watched a Maypole dance during a festival, and always thought it was Indian until only very recently learning of its origins.

The last one about the Maypole dance is most fascinating to me from an artistic, spiritual perspective in that art is something that should be shared amongst all of us to be enjoyed, as we are all family in the grander context.

For classical dance performances, I would attend as a child with my parents many arengetrams, a dance recital that a student performs as their first solo piece once they have attained a level of knowledge of the dance form of Bharthanatyam.

Recently, when attending an arangetram, I watched the show from a different perspective: that being of an adult dance student. The appreciation for the stamina and determination of the dancer was enhanced in that I could appreciate the amount of dedication and devotion it takes to get to perform at that level. The dancer is performing solo pieces throughout the show for nearly two hours straight, with a specific type of dance piece that can last around 1215 minutes. As an adult, I can see how this lesson of being on stage and practice for the dancer is a lesson in life that they will carry with them.

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