Siri Lekha, a first year BBA student of Center for Management Studies (CMS), has explored all the twist and turns which she encountered in her life, learning from every instance she lived to ensure her destination is reached. Her inborn passion for dance was not recognized until she moved according to the beats of a phone’s ringtone at around a year of age when she incorporated a dance flavor in every step she took as a toddler.

“I never found a stable external aid for my dance though I took up my Bharathnatyam classes right from my first grade. Eventually, I analyzed that this form was not something I was inclined to and gradually, I was exposed to and got influenced by many other forms of dance. It was my self-analyzing nature that helped me find the form of dance in which I was actually interested in. Hence, I paused Bharatnatyam after my junior exam and started going for free style. I kept changing my dance classes just to find the right one which could help me develop overall as a professional dancer” says she. Studying in a school and colleges which never encouraged cultural activities, never de motivated her passion as dance acted as a magnet, attracting her entirely.

Perspectives change according to perceptions! Maturity grows with age and stereotypes persist as per the society’s ideologies. Since her entire family is from a science background where her parents are doctors, naturally people who surrounded her created a mindset such that she also must be taking up science. After consulting many people she decided to take up computer science engineering and chose a college which was nearby to save and give more time for dance.

“I feel proud for having been blessed with such wonderful parents who always supported my love for dance. My mother said ‘when you are not happy studying engineering and controlling your spirit which always wants to dance, then why don’t you switch to what you like? Excelling in a genre you like is surely better than suffering by doing what’s not your cup of tea.’ It was these words of hers which struck my heart making me realize that I am incomplete without dance in my life. I then, discontinued my engineering and started my BBA because I always had a thought to start up an event organizing company and link dance to it to innovate something really unique and scale up my passion” she shares. As much as possible, she ensured that education never became an obstacle hindering her flow towards dance by choosing colleges which consumed less of her travelling time and courses which were light enough to handle.

Dance, a divine form of art that cultures ebullience in the life of every artist, presents to her, the kind of happiness which takes her deep into the puddle of ecstasy and this happiness cannot be stolen as dance is within her. Dance cures all her worries and stress, helping her withstand all the negativities she gets to face every day. “Joining and learning from numerous dance classes was in fact a blessing to me because I got to gain a lot of knowledge about various styles and cultivate versatility in me” narrates Siri, who is currently being trained at Attakalari, a dance institute and she also implements a couple of methods to rock at her stage shows. Believing that hand strength and core strength are the key requirements for dancer, she copes up her arm strength through consistent work outs at gym. Practicing dance movements repeatedly for a couple of times prior to the stage performances would help her retain energy throughout the performance. She looks up to her instructors for building core strength, believing that attempts to score perfection in technicalities which are involved in dance, will elevate her status as a graceful dancer. The versatile dancer who is well recognized in contemporary, hip hop, jazz and many more, is envisioned to study dance abroad and pursue a degree in dance and begin a dance institute which enables a huge number of aspiring dancers to prominently learn and embrace not only free style but also waacking, stilettos, jazz and other forms of dance which are not much recognized in Bangalore. “I was lucky enough to be blessed with such supportive parents who encouraged me but this may not be the case with others. If there is a will, they can surely find support and opportunities elsewhere- friends, open platforms (dance battles, workshops, etc.) and more. Sitting back calmly, giving time for yourselves to short list your likes, hates, strengths and weaknesses and finding out what actually suits you by trying out new things, would certainly help you discover your passion. Having all the talents but failing to exhibit them due to the inferiorities will take you nowhere. My advice to all the budding dancers is that joining schools and colleges which encourages cultural activities would act as an added advantage to their dance lives” she states.