Socio-Cultural Dynamics of Indian Classical Dance

Dance has been an integral part and ventricular parcel of my life since childhood. I began this endeavor at the tender age of three with Sri Kunhiraman and Srimathi Katherine Kunhiraman of Kalanjali Dances of India. They were a great source of encouragement as they were the only teachers who consented to accept me into their tutelage at a young age. They have indeed inspired me to great depths. I learned the basics of Bharatanatyam from them. As part of Kalanjali’s production “Folk Dances of India”, I ascended the stage at the age of 4. Due to geographical relocation of my residence, I continued learning Bharatanatyam from a lineage of Kalakshetra teachers including Sundara Swaminathan, K.P. Yesodha, K. Mohanan and currently back again with the Kunhiramans. These teachers have taught me several items in the Bharatanatyam repertoire. It was easy to transition between teachers as the Rukmini Devi pioneered Kalakshetra-style remained the same. Initially, my teachers corrected me minimally as I was too young to absorb the material in full detail. However, as I matured as a person and a dancer, my teachers were more strict and less forgiving of mistakes. I feel that such discipline is essential to perfect my dance movements as well as continually remind me to improve my qualities rather than stagnate. Having started dance at a young age, I was able to memorize the choreography pieces, eliminating the necessity to consider written notes. This capability provided me the additional advantage of independence from external sources to remember these pieces. Consequently, the corrections suggested by teachers were also internalized and preserved as accurately as possible.