An Indian dancer is bringing the stories of home to Dublin through her dance classes.
Meera Ramamillingam teaches Bharatanatyam at Kalaasankya, an Indian dance school based in Dublin. Her students from the Kalaasankya School of Bharat Natyam had the opportunity to perform in front of Ambassador Akhilesh Mishra and Mrs. Reeti Mishra from the Indian Embassy earlier this week.
She told Dublin Live: “I’m a professional dancer and I teach mostly kids. Our concert is a showcase of what the children have learned over the years, it takes years to learn it, it’s like Irish dancing - it takes years to practise.
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“Some of these kids have been learning for seven or eight years and this gives them the platform to show these skills.
"It was a very traditional concert that we usually don’t get to do here. It’s called Bharatanatyam and it translates to dance of India.
“The ones who were born here can still relate to the culture through this. There’s a joy to dancing more than anything. This dancing tells stories, culture and drama. It has different elements, the footwork and the hand gestures.
“There’s a lot of emotions involved. You’ve to portray nine different emotions in this dance through expressions. It’s a lot of fun even if it is hard work. It’s a way to keep in touch with the stories from back home.”
Speaking about the performance at the End of Year Bharatanatyam, Meera said the day was a fantastic opportunity for her students to showcase their hard work.
Meera continued: “We present classical Indian dance. It’s very ancient and from 200 BC. We've been trying to keep it alive and get the next generation into it.
“People welcome it and enjoy our show.
“In India we’d have a live orchestra full of different instruments and vocalists. It’s a live orchestra with dance at the same time.
“But I’d love to have this one place where people could come in and learn in the community. I’d love to open it to the general public.
“Before Covid I used to do it in Rathfarnham hall, I’d do workshops and I’d go into some schools to do it for inclusion week and teach them about a different culture. We went to a multicultural event in Clongriffin Park too.”
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