Folk Flavour

Dance is an expression of human emotion,says Nritya Shrimoni Pt Shakuntla Panwar

This one’s surely good news for all the dance lovers,especially those who are mesmerized by the soul stirring music and rhythmic dance of Rajasthan. Keeping this very folk factor in mind,Anupreet Dance Academy,Chandigarh will present a 15-day workshop by Nritya Shrimoni Pt. Shakuntla Panwar,director,Shakuntalam,Udaipur. Pt Shakuntla has trained more than 20,000 students and has performed in more than 30 countries and several Indian states to name a few Karnataka,Maharashtra,Orissa etc. She is also the winner of many national and international awards. For Pt. Shakuntla,“Folk dance form is for all those who are connected to their roots no matter where they live. Dance is an expression of human emotion as much as music and it is found in almost limitless variations in Rajasthan,and the Rajasthani folk dance is full of verve.” According to her,“Classical dance is the base of any dance form. I am really grateful to my dancing Gurus,late Swami Mathura Prasad and Badri Prasad who taught me the classical dance forms.” Commenting on the trend towards the western dances Pt. Shakuntla adds,

“I strongly believe that these dance forms are shortlived and youngsters will realize this very fact and go back to classical dance.”

Anu Preet,who has trained under Bollywood’s Master ji Saroj Khan,says,“ There is immense talent in the tricity but there is lack of organized facilities. Dance lovers don’t get exposure or training from experts. I too had to move to Mumbai for training.” Anu now intends to bring to Chandigarh the best exponents of dance. This workshop is for all age groups and will start from January 15 at the IMA Hall,Sector 35 followed by a mega show on February 1 at the Tagore Theatre,Sector 18 in which all the students will display all the types of Rajasthani folk dance taught by Pt. Shakuntla.