Sandip Soparrkar Interview
Q. With a career spanning dance, choreography, acting, academia, and arts leadership, how would you introduce the person behind all these identities?
At heart, I am a storyteller. Dance is my language, choreography is my way of painting emotions through movement, mythology gives me a window into the human condition, and teaching allows me to share everything I have learnt with others.
Over the years, I have worn many hats as a choreographer, performer, show director, educator and arts advocate but I believe they are all connected by one common thread: my desire to touch people’s lives through the performing arts.
I have always believed that an artist’s responsibility extends beyond the stage. It is about inspiring people, preserving our cultural heritage, encouraging young talent and using art to make society more compassionate and inclusive.
If I were to introduce the person behind all these identities in one sentence, I would say that I am a student of life who happens to express himself through dance.
Q. What first drew you to dance, and when did you realise it could become a lifelong language of expression?
What drew me to dance was its extraordinary ability to communicate without words. A movement, a glance, a gesture or even a moment of stillness can express emotions that sometimes take an entire conversation to explain.
As I explored dance, I realised that it was not merely about learning steps or entertaining an audience. It was about understanding people, cultures, music and the emotions that connect us as human beings.
My journey through ballroom and Latin dance, choreography and theatrical productions opened up different worlds of expression for me. Each form taught me something new about rhythm, discipline, partnership and storytelling.
There was no single moment when I decided that dance would be my lifelong language. It was a gradual realisation that the more I learnt, the more there was to discover. Dance became not just my profession but a way of looking at life.
Even today, after years of performing, teaching and choreographing, I remain a student. That, perhaps, is the greatest gift dance has given me: the understanding that learning never ends.
Q. You have received four National Honours. How have these recognitions shaped your artistic journey and your responsibility as an artist?
Recognition is always encouraging, but I believe an award is not the destination; it is a reminder of the responsibility that comes with your work.
Receiving national-level honours for my artistic and creative contributions has been deeply meaningful. Such recognition makes you pause and reflect on the journey, the people who have supported you and the countless hours of discipline and dedication that go into creating something worthwhile.
However, I have never believed that an award should make an artist complacent. If anything, it should inspire us to work harder, explore new ideas and create opportunities for others.
For me, the most fulfilling recognition is seeing a student gain confidence, watching an audience connect emotionally with a performance, or witnessing dance bring joy to someone who may have never imagined themselves stepping onto a dance floor.
I see every honour as an encouragement to contribute more meaningfully to the arts, support emerging talent and use my platform responsibly. The true value of recognition lies in what you do with it afterwards.
Q. As a choreographer, how do you balance the preservation of tradition with the need to create something contemporary?
I do not see tradition and contemporary expression as opposing forces. I see them as two generations having a conversation.
Tradition gives us our roots, our cultural identity and a foundation built over centuries. Contemporary expression allows us to interpret that foundation through the experiences, sensibilities and questions of the present generation.
As a choreographer, I believe it is important to understand a dance form before attempting to reinterpret it. You must respect its history, technique, musicality and cultural significance. Innovation without understanding can become superficial, but tradition without the freedom to evolve can lose its connection with younger audiences.
My approach is to preserve the essence while exploring new possibilities. Movement, music, staging, storytelling and visual presentation can evolve, provided the artistic integrity of the form remains intact.
Dance has always evolved through cultural exchanges and changing social environments. The challenge is not to freeze it in time, but to ensure that its evolution is informed, respectful and meaningful.
I often say that our roots should give us the confidence to grow new branches. That is how we keep an art form alive.
Q. Your PhD in World Mythology brings together scholarship and storytelling. How has studying mythology influenced the way you approach performance and choreography?
My interest in mythology comes from my fascination with stories that have survived centuries because they continue to speak to the human experience.
Mythology is not simply a collection of gods, demons, celestial beings and extraordinary events. Beneath the spectacle are profound questions about love, power, duty, sacrifice, desire, justice, transformation and the relationship between humanity and the universe.
Studying mythology encourages me to look beyond the obvious narrative and ask what a character represents, what motivates their actions and what emotional or philosophical conflict lies beneath a story.
As a choreographer, this changes the way I approach movement. I do not want a dancer merely to illustrate an incident from a myth. I want the dancer’s body, expression and movement to communicate the inner world of the character.
For instance, portraying Lord Shiva requires more than a powerful stance or the energy of the Tandava. One must also understand stillness, meditation, detachment, compassion and the profound symbolism associated with Shiva and Shakti.
Mythology also allows me to connect different cultures. Although the stories and characters vary across civilisations, we repeatedly encounter similar questions about creation, destruction, love, mortality and the search for meaning.
For me, scholarship provides depth, while performance brings that depth to life. When the two come together, a story can become an experience that moves both the intellect and the heart.
Q. What can Indian classical and traditional arts teach younger generations that they may not learn elsewhere?
Indian classical and traditional arts can teach young people patience, discipline, respect, concentration and an appreciation of something larger than themselves.
In a world where everything is increasingly immediate, dance and music teach us the value of consistent practice. You cannot master a complex movement or understand a raga overnight. You must return to it repeatedly, make mistakes, accept correction and keep improving.
Traditional arts also teach us to listen to the music, to our teachers, to our fellow performers and to the silence between movements. They nurture observation, emotional intelligence and the ability to express feelings constructively.
Another important lesson is cultural confidence. When young people understand their artistic heritage, they develop a stronger sense of identity without having to close themselves off from other cultures.
I also believe the arts can teach empathy. When you portray a character whose experiences differ from your own, you learn to look at the world through another person’s eyes.
Ultimately, I would like young people to understand that our traditions are not relics of the past. They are living knowledge systems that can enrich our emotional, intellectual and social lives.
Q. As Chairman of the India Fine Arts Council, what needs to change to make the arts more accessible, sustainable and relevant today?
I believe we need to move from celebrating the arts occasionally to supporting them consistently.
India possesses extraordinary artistic wealth, but many talented performers, teachers and traditional practitioners continue to face challenges related to financial stability, professional opportunities, institutional support and access to audiences.
First, arts education must become more accessible. Children from different social and economic backgrounds should have opportunities to learn dance, music, theatre and other art forms, not merely as extracurricular activities but as valuable parts of their development.
Second, we need stronger support systems for artists. Fair remuneration, transparent opportunities, professional training, grants, performance platforms and sustainable career pathways are essential if we want talented young people to choose the arts without feeling that they must sacrifice financial security.
Third, we must embrace technology strategically. Digital platforms can help artists reach wider audiences, document endangered traditions, connect with international collaborators and create new educational opportunities. However, digital visibility must complement, not replace, the value of live performance and direct cultural transmission.
We also need greater collaboration between educational institutions, cultural organisations, governments, corporate partners and independent artists.
Most importantly, accessibility must include people with disabilities, senior citizens and communities that have historically had limited access to cultural spaces.
As an arts advocate, I believe our goal should be to build an ecosystem in which artists are respected as professionals, audiences can access quality cultural experiences, and traditional knowledge is passed on to future generations.
The arts should not survive merely on passion. They deserve the infrastructure, investment and recognition necessary to thrive.
Q. Having experienced dance as both a performer and a creator, what is one misconception people commonly have about becoming a professional dancer?
One of the biggest misconceptions is that if you have natural talent, you will automatically become a successful dancer.
Talent is a wonderful starting point, but a professional career requires much more. It demands discipline, physical conditioning, musical understanding, emotional intelligence, adaptability, resilience and the willingness to keep learning.
People often see the final performance: the costumes, the applause, the glamour and the apparent ease of movement. They do not always see the years of training, the repetitive rehearsals, the physical demands, the uncertainty between projects and the constant effort required to remain relevant.
Another misconception is that dance is not a serious profession. A professional dancer must understand the body, movement, rhythm, performance psychology, collaboration and, increasingly, the business of the arts.
I also believe that age should not be treated as an automatic barrier to artistic growth. Different stages of life bring different qualities to performance, and there are many ways to contribute to the dance world as a performer, teacher, choreographer, researcher or mentor.
My advice to aspiring dancers is simple: love the art but respect the work it demands. Be curious, be disciplined, take care of your body and never stop being a student.
Passion may make you begin the journey, but commitment is what helps you sustain it.
Q. If you could choreograph a performance based on one myth from any culture in the world, which story would you choose and why?
If I could choose one story, I would love to create a large-scale dance-theatre production exploring the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.
It is a deeply moving story about love, loss, music, faith and the human desire to bring back what we have lost. Orpheus, whose music has the power to move both people and nature, journeys into the underworld to bring Eurydice back. Yet, at the decisive moment, his inability to trust the journey leads to tragedy.
What fascinates me is the emotional complexity of the story. It asks a question that is as relevant today as it was centuries ago: when we love someone deeply, can we trust enough to let go of our fear?
As a choreographer, I can imagine music becoming a character, with movement representing the passage between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Light, shadow, silence and contrasting movement vocabularies could create a powerful theatrical language for the story.
I would also love to explore the relationship between music and mythology across cultures, bringing together different artistic traditions without erasing their individual identities.
Ultimately, I am drawn to stories that transcend geography. Whether we look at Greek mythology, Indian epics or the myths of other civilisations, we discover that human beings everywhere have used stories to understand love, suffering, hope and the mysteries of existence.
That universality is what makes mythology such an extraordinary source of inspiration for an artist.
My other dream was to do a musical on Life of Lord Shiva, and I am humbled to say that has come true and we are launching the show very soon in India.
Bio
Sandip Soparrkar is a distinguished dancer, choreographer, and actor whose artistic journey reflects a deep passion for the performing arts. Honoured with four National Honours, he has earned recognition for his contributions to the cultural landscape. As Chairman of the India Fine Arts Council, he continues to champion artistic excellence and cultural preservation. Holding a PhD in World Mythology, Sandip brings a unique blend of scholarly insight and creative expression to his work, bridging the timeless wisdom of mythology with the dynamic world of performance.
Interviewed by Vanshika Gupta
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