‘Indian dance forms are at risk of dying’

Danseuse Isha Sharvani on Sunday gave a breathtaking performance on a contemporary dance influenced by both Indian and Western dance forms, at Chaos, the annual cultural festival of the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIMA). The four-day cultural festival ended on Sunday.

Sharvani believes Indian dance forms are dying as there are few genuine connoisseurs of Indian art forms left in the world.
"I present these amazingly beautiful dance forms differently so that they are vivacious enough to directly connect with today's youth and, to some extent, the youth of tomorrow," said the young danseuse. "Otherwise, how many of the GenNext will know about Indian dance?" She added that considering the taste of today's youth, it is vital to mix Indian with Western dance forms.

Sharvani was invited to perform at IIMA Chaos after students of IIM-Chennai spoke highly of her as a dancer. "My last performance was at IIM-Chennai," she said. "I am happy that through the Chennai institute, I got a chance to perform here. My show here is purely a show for students of IIMA and others who have come to Chaos as participants."

She said Indian dance disciplines such as Kalaripayattu, Malkham rope, Kathak, Theyyam and several others are slowly dying. "Some Indian dance forms seem to vanish with every new generation," she said "I, along with my dance troupe and company, am planning to revive these dying dance forms."

Sharvani believes that Indian art forms are neither archaic nor uninformed about the latest trends. But there are few genuine connoisseurs of these art forms left, she said.