DANCE? YES I CAN:-)!!!

Hmm how do I start to write about my experience with dance? I just can’t think of how to express it in words, because dance is something I have never lived without, once I realized that yes, I can dance!! Let me start by telling you about how my perception about dance changed thoroughly.
Now I know this may sound shocking and funny but it’s the truth. Dance is the last thing I ever wanted to do on this earth and I never thought that there would come a single day that I couldn’t live without it. I used to think that dance was just a way to squander away life. It was just a hobby that people used to indulge in, to have fun & waste their time. I spent my entire school life with this perception, and used to hate dance & dancers.
For every school annual day or any other function that I used to attend in school, I was least bothered about the talent & hard work of the people who used to dance. I hardly used to give them or their dances a second look, and if at all I happened to see them, I used to make fun of them (cheapo). I strongly believe that my mom was the reason for me not to have an interest in dancing as she hates dance. All my cousins used to dance in parties and my job was to look at them and mock (hehe lolz.)
Now you must be wondering about how, when I hated dance so much, that I got so addicted to it. Well here goes the story. During my PUC days at St. Joseph’s Pre University College, all I could do was study and enjoy my life with my friends. Our college dance team was very famous in the city and was referred to as “unbeatable” (all thanks to Charles ma a.k.a Charlie). There was so much hype about them, and so I eagerly waited to see them perform. Then later I witnessed the best fest of my lifetime “EQUINOX” (my college’s fest) in which I saw my college Indian dance team performing and I was speechless as it was something I had never seen before in my life.
It was a contemporary dance done by our college students. It pricked my inner soul and made me think that there is something extra ordinary in dance. I used to see these students in the college campus at 7 in the morning every day, doing warm up exercises. I used to watch Charlie teaching his students with great passion & oomph. All I would do was just stand at a distance and absorb as much as I could. For me, Charlie was and is my first & last guru (Eklavya & Dronacharya’s applied theory)
Then later, I used to lock myself in my room & try out those steps but I always failed because my body was not ready to accept what I was trying to do with it. I tried harder and harder to make myself flexible and comfortable enough to shake at least some parts of my body. Slowly my body started to accept it and was helping me in learning the steps. I observed every dance style and tried to absorb something from each one of them, but I was interested only in contemporary dance. It became my first love in dance. Days went on with lots of research and efforts, to find the unknown in dance. During those days I became quite confident about my dance and I slowly started choreographing but I failed a lot of times.
I analyzed my weaknesses and converted them into strengths. My efforts to find out more and more and go deep in my understanding of dance never failed and I realized, that dance was not only about performing on stage. It was more than that.
I discovered that dance satisfies five different levels of needs i.e. stated needs, real needs, unstated needs, delight needs & secret needs (marketing concept lolz).
Stated needs: dancing, entertaining
Real needs: educating, spreading knowledge, creating awareness about a social cause
Unstated needs: flexible body, team building, fitness
Delight needs: name, fame, recognition, new friends & a network
Secret needs: peace, forgetting all pain in life, happiness
I don’t know whether the above stated levels will apply to all but for me, they do. I realized that dance is something people should do to satisfy the needs listed above. Today by God’s grace I can dance well and thanks to all the people who believed that it would happen one day!!! I am happy that I learned dance with my own effort and hard work. I believe that God Almighty gave me this talent and I so shall spread it and use it to educate people as much as I can. The best of part about dance is that it makes me express my emotions, gives me the freedom to educate others on any issue, it satisfies my inner soul & makes me happy.

One of the best feelings in world is when my students make me proud by giving their heart & soul to dance. Today I feel so great & proud when I see my students becoming great dancers & great humans in life. There are moments when I have literally broken down seeing my students giving outstanding performances. Trust me, it feels like heaven.

Today dance is more than just a passion for me. Whenever I’ve found myself in darkness and pain, or lonely, dance has always helped bring me back to normal life. On many occasions it has helped me to forget every hurdle and hurt that I’ve gone through in life. I never thought dance would become so important in my life, and I’m very happy for what I am today. Life is so colorful and beautiful but it adds on more color and beauty, if you perceive it through dance.

Let anything happen in life, let any storm hit me, let any problem challenge me, I shall face it with confidence because dance is always with me as my strength to face all odds. My soul and body have gotten so addicted to dance that they start enjoying the moment I listen to any music. To be honest whenever I’m out and the road-side people play Band Baja on the occasion of a marriage or death, I make sure I do at least two steps; I just can’t resist!

I shall pray that my love to dance should remain as long as I’m alive. No matter what I will be and where I will be, I will always be a learner and learn as much I can because there is lots more for me to learn and spread through my best efforts. I have realized that we can learn anything on earth if we have quest for it. My perception of dance has changed completely. Before I didn’t know what dance was and how to dance but today I can happily say DANCE? YES I CAN!!!!

The best thing there was, The best thing there is, The best thing there will ever be, DANCE DANCE DANCE!!!!