Suspending Reality Through Bharatanatyam
An engineer by profession and a dancer by choice, Soumya D Rao, has felt drawn towards Bharatanatyam for as long as she can remember. January 25th, 2019 proved to be an important date for Soumya as it marked her first performance at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan which was being hosted by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in Bangalore.
“We have been hosting this program every Friday for the last 36 years and the selection process never gets easier. Sometimes dancers wait for years before they get a chance to perform on our stage,” explained P. Venugopal, the Regional Director of ICCR.
Soumya spent most of her childhood traveling and never got the chance to explore her inclination towards dance. In 2013, her colleague introduced her to Bharatanatyam when she took her to Kalakriti Dance School to meet Prof. Krishnamurthy.
“Dance is an escape for me. Once you’re on stage you can forget everything. You are so caught up in the emotion of the character that you are playing that you forget who you are for a second. Every part of your body is involved in it, from head to toe,” said Soumya.
After having devoted a significant part of her time and energy to the dance form over the past six years, she explains the kind of discipline that it takes to train your body and mind.
“I practice before work in the morning (6:00 a.m.) and after work for a few hours. We are also made to meditate to increase our concentration. Like eating or drinking, practicing everyday is a must. It’s all about being passionate and showing that interest and initiative to learn more.”
Her focus and determination came out during her performance at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan as she played more than five characters and kept switching between them in the blink of an eye.
“Each character has a different dominating emotion, it is important to give each character equal attention and justify playing that role. You have to think that you are the character and then you will really enjoy that role,” said Soumya.
She appreciates having a live music ensemble by her side and feels like they enable her to express herself better.
“There is an understanding between the musicians and the dancer. We feed off each other and try to transcend the performance.”
A self-proclaimed purist, she gives tradition importance and respects the boundaries that it sets.
“While I am not against the fusion of contemporary dance forms and classical dance forms, I feel a responsibility to uphold some of our practices like wearing the traditional costume,” explained Soumya.
Living in a fast paced city like Bangalore, she realises that her career and passion cannot be the same.
“I have so much left to learn that I can’t even think about becoming a full-time dancer right now. I have to focus on my career as an engineer as well, but dance is my true passion.”
She is seemingly content leading a life of duality and continues to switch between the characters of a dancer and engineer every single day.
