‘That was the day I decided that I want to learn from her’.

Even though no one in her immediate family was a dancer, Sanchita knew within herself that she was a dancer. She realized that she had always been a dancer when she made her very first dancing movement at an early age. She won many competitions at both district and state’s level and performed at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Asia Sammelan. Despite being born into a very academic family, a paediatrician oncologist father and a mother who is a teacher of chemistry, both parents were very supportive of Sanchita learning classical dancing while she was also studying. Sanchita is a ‘Kathak dancer.’ ‘Kathak’ means ‘Storytelling’ in Hindi, a very ancient Indian classical dance form. The earliest reference to Kathak community can be traced back to the 3rd and 4th BC Sanskrit verses.

At the age of five, while watching her elder sister learning Indian classical dance, Sanchita became lost in the waves of Indian classical dance. This later moulded her into an outstanding performer. One day Guru Shovana Narayana, one of the most revered dancers came to perform in Sanchita’s hometown, ‘that was the day I decided that I wanted to learn from her.’ With her parents’ support, Sanchita travelled from her hometown to New Delhi to attend dance’s classes taught by Guru Narayana while studying her year 11 and 12 at the same time. Despite such a heavy study load, the very busy and demanding dance classes and actively participating in dancing competitions, Sanchita achieved 95% in year 12 and got into Lady Shri Ram, a prestigious University in New Delhi. ‘Dance came naturally, I lived every part of it and could see that it was coming to me very naturally. I felt very comfortable in my very own technics.’ Sanchita became a member of her Guru’s dance repertory group at a very young age. She was also doing some community development work in the rural areas of India at the same time.

In 2018 Sanchita founded ‘Kathaprana’ meaning ‘the life of the story’ in Hindi, a dance company which she now runs in Blackburn, Melbourne Australia. Classes are also available online. She incorporates world’s literature including Australian cultural works into her teaching. In 2010, she performed at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. ‘I felt a great sense of pride, welcoming people from all over the world through our artform and representing my country.’ Internationally, Sanchita has performed in Hungary, Latvia, London, and Germany. In 2018, she performed at the Indian Summer Festival held at Melbourne Cricket Ground which was supported by Multicultural Arts Victoria (MAV). In 2019 she performed at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. In 2020, she performed at Nrithya Sangamam organised by Times of India. In 2021, Sanchita also performed for the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi, India.

Challenges

‘Many dancers, are struggling to live a comfortable life’

Sanchita believes that the challenges she encounters emanate from how to make her performances understood by different spectators from different backgrounds. ‘There are some differences between Australian and Indian spectators. ‘In Australia, people are not aware of my dance. Without that awareness, it is difficult to understand its intricacies at times.’ Performing in India, the environment is different and Sanchita enjoys the push to be more creative. ‘Some perceive dance as a source of entertainment. But it is much more than that. It is a spiritual journey.’ Moreover, classical dances such as Kathak are rather expensive artforms which require a lot of expenses for costume, rehearsals, music, venue and make up which sometimes people forget. ‘Many dancers, are struggling to live a comfortable life.’

Through her dance, Sanchita revives and promotes the very remote and peripheral cultures that is about to be washed away by the wave of globalisation which she believes leads to ‘homogenisation.’ ‘Through my Kathak dance, I try and protect the very essence of these cultures. Peripheral cultures are found everywhere, even in Australia’. Sanchita is known for her thematic productions. Her one such critically acclaimed production was based on a ‘Soldier’s life’ which incorporated the emotional and expressive connotation as well as the technical dimensions to the dance. This dance drama was based on the poetry by a very renowned Indian Air Force Officer.

‘If you want to understand dancing remain still, if you want to understand stillness, dance’ – Rumi

Inspiration & Aspiration

A beautiful story, cultural identity, socio-economic issue such as ‘children forced into marriage, dowry etc… fuels Sanchita’s dances. Sanchita recently did a piece on women’s empowerment, based on a true story from the land of Rajasthan. Though people are living ‘modern life’, Sanchita believes that there are still a lot of unresolved issues that are part of our everyday human life.

Women’s Role in the dancing World

‘Women are already doing so much. Women are the past, present and future of the world. The only thing I tell everyone is not to be afraid of making mistakes. We need to make mistakes and learn from them. Gaining our individuality and confidence is essential.’ Sanchita urges women dancers to be aware that dancing is about believing in yourself. ‘Believe in yourself and use your complete body, mind and spirit and put them to work in a given space and time.’ Sometimes, the ongoing relationship between the guru and the shishya (teacher – student) might not assist the student in finding her own creative dancing technics. Students can lose their own authentic dance. ‘Put your own essence, your own idea, no one wants to see someone else’s perfection in you. People are happier to see your imperfections. All you need is to believe in yourself’.

‘A balance between Modernity and True Essence’

As a strong advocate for cultural diversity, Sanchita reminds women from migrant and refugee backgrounds that their cultural identity should be reflected in their work. Concerned with the slow disappearance of the ‘essence for the true art form’ due to rapid globalisation, she calls on women dancers to ‘take your state, region and country with you on the stage from which we could all learn so much’. The meaning behind the gestures, emotions are disappearing into a blank canvas. ‘You can be the best performer, but you may lose your identity. Therefore, a balance should be maintained between modernity and the true essence of why we are doing it.’

Comfortable both as a Dancer and as Public Policy Specialist