dance

Versatile actress Pranali Sanghmitra Bhagwat dreams of working in offbeat cinema

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“We are in a diverse country with a diverse social history. Films are a very strong medium of spreading awareness and strengthening the fabric of society,” says the versatile actress Pranali Sanghmitra Bhagwat justifying a reason to seek out offbeat films.

Pranali, who recently made a debut in the commercial mystery-comedy Ek Number Super, remarks that she wants to play all kinds of characters, but also has a liking for unconventional films with a strong social message.

Ask her about her favourite directors and she promptly replies that she dreams of working with filmmakers like Anurag Kashyap, Nagraj Manjule, Mira Nair, Gauri Shinde and Neeraj Ghaywan.

“They make such wonderful socially sensitive movies which have entertainment value, along with portraying deep and strong realities. It’s like showing the mirror to society and making the journey entertaining at the same time,” says Pranali.

And what does she like to do in her spare time? “I love to dance,” says the actress who actually began dancing at the age of two. She danced at home and then in school and later did workshops in Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Bollywood dance.

She even got selected and trained by Shiamak Davar’s dance academy in a Special Potential Batch. Pranali has taken formal training in Hindustani classical singing for four years during her school days, performed in various theatre plays later, trained in contemporary dance and even learnt acting at Kishore Namit Kapoor’s acting institute.

In fact, Pranali is so attached to dance that she frequently attends international dance workshops with Shoonya Dance Centre in Belgium.

We wish this focused and talented actress the best and hope she fulfills all her dreams.

If war shapes boundaries, art shapes cultures, says Pratyusha Chhajer

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Dance should be above politics and wars, she feels.

Ballet dancers and academies all over the western world have been protesting against the random sanctions put on them due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Concerts, dance recitals and exhibitions have been postponed indefinitely after the recent Russian intervention in Ukraine.

“It is unfair to sanction an academy in the West or Europe just because they have a Russian name or follow a Russian style of dancing or have Russian dancers training there. That is arbitrary but that is what is happening with many right now. We are all being judged for having any Russian connection,” says the owner of an academy in the West who does not want to be named.

Entrepreneur Pratyusha Chhajer of SS Ballet Academy in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, concurs. “The conflict is not good. No one is disputing that. However, I agree that to sanction a place, just because some of the teachers are Russian or they follow a Russian style of ballet dance, is misplaced.”

Though there are no sanctions on any Russian form of dance in India, Pratyusha is disturbed by this trend of ‘cancel culture’, especially when it comes to cancelling art forms. “Dance, just like music, is a universal language. Without having to speak, humans can express themselves through dance. Let’s not forget that if war shapes boundaries, art shapes cultures. Thus art should be above politics and wars.”

“Dance is the rhythm of moving leaves, dance is the rhythm of flowing water, dance moves to the rhythm of breeze — dance is  everywhere. Dance is within you, dance is outside you. So we should work in the direction of preserving culture, performing arts, traditions and heritage for our future generations,” she concludes.

India’s SS Ballet Academy leading the way with online dance classes

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Who thought there would come a time when the world would almost be stranded inside their homes. But the pandemic and its lockdowns brought in new realities and even ushered in a new era of Work From Home.

But as the old saying goes, ‘All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy,’ people soon realised the ill effects of a sedentary virtual lifestyle. And that’s when, out of the blue, a whole new concept of an online education of dance took birth.

Online learning suddenly seemed to be more exciting than ever. And though dance requires more of a person-to-person interaction in teaching, dance teachers and academies around the world, did find ways to teach it through the computer and mobile screens.

One such academy is SS Ballet Academy (SSBA) headquartered in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Founded by entrepreneur Pratyusha Chhajer, SSBA follows the Vaganova Method of ballet dance, which was made internationally famous by Russian ballerina Agrippina Vaganova.

Starting out in Indore, SSBA shifted its headquarters to Ahmedabad recently and plans to expand, with branches in Mumbai and Delhi in the near future. It is a member of the internationally prestigious Conseil International de la Danse (CID) certification, which is an official partner of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (popularly known as UNESCO).

Talking about the online dance classes boom, SSBA’s founder Pratyusha Chhajer says, “Online classes not only offer a great opportunity to learn a new dance form, but also build confidence of the students, that too, while they enjoy the comforts of their home atmosphere.”

“Though it’s not the most ideal way of learning dance, it offers an opportunity to many outstation students who can’t manage to come to a new city to learn,” she remarks.

SS Ballet Academy aims to train newcomers and continue to take professional dancers under their wing, to help them reach a world stage.

“The online classes have given them a new chance to opt for distance training and continue their dream of becoming ballet artists,” adds Pratyusha. She further informs, “Inspite of the challenges, we are happy to have a good strength of ballet dancers joining SSBA and continuing their practice with us. They have been participating in different examinations and getting onto the next level.”

As soon as the pandemic situation gets completely normal, SSBA will restart the regular classes, but has decided to also continue with online classes.