"Dance Is My Escape" - Pavana.B.Khodanpur



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1. Tell us more about your background and journey.

I belong to a family where it is strongly believed that art is an important aspect of our lives. As a child, I was given the opportunity to choose any form of art I liked. I was 5 years old when I started learning classic dance and ever since then I've been pursuing this art.


2. When did you first decide you wanted to pursue dancing and how did you start?

As a toddler, I had always watched my sister perform and at the age of 5 I decided that I wanted to follow into her footsteps. I started at the age of 5 but due to certain circumstances, I was trained under different mentors which added to my versatility in the art. And this global pandemic has only just given me the opportunity to self explore many more forms of dance.


3. Who is your favourite dancer and why?

It's hard to pick out one personal favourite. However, here are a few of my favourite inspirational artists I've been following;  Rukmini Vijayakumar, whose talent for creating a form in a contemporary way and still sticking to the classical root's really is an inspiration.

Shreema Upadhyaya, for her beautiful portrayal of dance in every one of her performances. And all my Gurus; Guru DR. Suparna Venkatesh, Guru Usha Datar, Guru Shubha Dhananjay and Guru Shubharani, who have been my backbone throughout this journey.


4. Can you throw some light on opportunities one gets as a dancer?

As a dancer one gets an opportunity to interact with various kinds of crowds. There are dancers that have made an entire living out of their talent. Being a dancer one get offers to choreograph mere college shows to huger, more recognised platforms. We come across new kinds of talent and you never know when it turns out to be beneficial to us.


5. Is format training required or can one train themselves purely on the basis of talent?

Talent is something that is going to drive you to your destiny but one needs to understand his/her body, body type and what suits them the best. And to figure that out, one is going to need a lot of training and understanding to excel in the future.
Techniques are the ones that fine-tune the dance form, hence a mixture of talent and techniques is a must.


6. What piece of advice would you like to give to future and aspiring artists?

Advice that I would like to give my fellow artists is to never give up on their passion because one day they fruit results. It's not all about the fame game but about how it helps one in individual growth. Despite all the bruises and stress, we go through, what matters is the peace we feel after the final performance.


7. Which is your favourite book and why?

I'm not a book person but the book series I'm really into, at present, is the Shiva Trilogy.


Interview by - Chaitra