FRIDAY FEATURE: SHUBHA NAGARAJAN

Happy Friday everyone!

I am really happy and excited to feature a very charming and beautiful danseuse friend today-

Shubha Nagarajan

Shubha Nagarajan started learning the Odissi style of Indian classical dancing under Guru Niharika Mohanty in the San Francisco Bay area, USA. The urge to learn this form of classical Indian dance, sparked moments after, Shubha gave birth to her second daughter. She now lives in Bengaluru,  India and is now training  under Guru Smt. Sharmila Mukherjee. A hobby is now a passion!

Shubha was inclined towards Odissi form of classical dance because of the graceful fluidity of the style and the opportunity to experience the sculpture like body movements taken from the temples of India  surrounded by the lilting music.

Shubha performing at the Annual Day celebrations at Sanjali Centre for Odissi, Bengaluru, India

According to Shubha, "Classical dance such as Odissi requires a lot of concentration in order to coordinate the intricate hand gestures and footwork to the music. The wonderful yogic postures incorporated in the dance help me to discipline my body and keep my mind sharp".

"Classical dance is a very complicated art form and requires years of conditioning the body and  training on the technicalities of that particular style before we are ready to perform on stage. I spend about 2-3 hours in class,dancing. On the weeks prior to a performance, my group and I rehearse daily for 3 hours,or more".

Shubha attends Odissi workshops and has recently started performing in dance festivals and programmes showcasing budding dancers. She has performed at Sai Nrityotsav,Samsmaran which was a tribute to Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra.

On an inspirational note,  Shubha says, "Learning dance in one's 30's has its own beauty. The learning process becomes more spiritual and we become more aware of our bodies,and we bring a certain maturity from our life experiences  into the dance that very young dancers may not be able to. But if you have the passion, its never too late and nothing is difficult."

Shubha can be contacted through the Sanjali Centre for Odissi, Bengaluru, India

I hope you enjoyed this feature and  found an inspiration to do something new and creative! I wish I could pursue dancing, but health problems restrict me in doing so. 

Should you want to know more about this Indian classical dance form, here is a book suggestion - 

Odissi (Dances of India)