Bhavini misra has choreographed a piece on the lives of street kids.D Kaushik delved into her humane philosophy and found out how she opened a dance academy in memory of her deceased friends
How Bhavini Misra got street kids whom she met near Moolchand Flyover traffic signal to join her dance academy is a tale in itself.We were told that she met the parents, got their permission and classes got rolling.
Today she is ready with a choreography called Anurakti, which will be staged at Kamani this Friday. The choreography combines Mayurbhanj Chhau, acrobatics (that the children are experts in), with bits of ballet and Kalaripayattu. The story is about a small boy, Ravi and life changing experiences.
After the opening act, you will see regular dancers perform. Then groups of children huddle in a corner, discussing the difference between a few dancers they just watched and themselves.
They realise that it is only a difference of venue. They perform on streets, not the stage. The story progresses when this group of children jumps through the window of a dance academy, to learn what is the place like. Fascinated by what they see, they dance. Then Ravi gets noticed.
The rest of the dance is all about his journey. “Anurakti means hope and passion. It’s abstract in form, but a story for masses, revealing their journey of hope, despair, pain and conviction, through episodes involving a little boy who dances and begs on the streets. His dream is to be great stage dancer.”
The story showcases the emotional journey of one child’s future, and how it evolves when a dance company embraces him. The show also aims at bettering the lives of these kids, giving the young artists, through building their morale and confidence. The choreography also conveys that these children have no dearth of talent. They need to be given opportunity. And if a few of us come forward and do something, these little ones lives will change forever,” informed Bhavini, who conceptualised Urshilla Dance Company (UDC) last year.
Before that, she was a principal dancer with Sadhya Unit of Performing Arts, where she was for over eight years, and evolved as a dancer. She said, “I developed my own style, combining my training in jazz, knowledge of ballet, contemporary dance and Mayurbhanj Chhau.”
But her dream was to open an academy. “I danced a lot in college. And after completing my education, I joined an event management. While working, I often remembered a conversation I had with two friends who said, ‘We should do something concrete with our dancing skills. And you are born to be a dancer.’ Unfortunately I lost them in an accident. I was supposed to be in the car too, but got lucky.”
She went on, “I didn’t want to do the usual stuff with dance. There had to be some way to give back to society. The UDC team performs at dance festivals like IDF, Quarterfest, Aadhunik. UDC is also associated with Boys of Street. I took some of them to train after I saw them perform and entertain people at Central Park. They have been dancing and training with us since December.” The street children under Misra are paid a sum as an artist’s fee. With education, their training is also taken care of.