Sudhaaya, where dance steps help erase imaginary lines

Gurgaon: Students of a celebrated city-based danseuse have been sacrificing their weekends to teach Odissi to underprivileged girls. On Sunday night, eight of these kids, the senior-most among those learning, will be presenting ‘Metamorphosis’, the annual performance of the Sudhaaya dance foundation.
Shagun Butani, who has made Odissi her life’s endeavour, has been teaching dance to the children of Gurgaon for nearly 15 years. Around a year-and-a-half back, Butani and Sudhaaya established ‘Taal Mein Saksham’, a program that sought to assimilate, in their classes, girls from families living on the margins of society – after inviting schools to come and watch Odissi. “One school that came was Saksham in Sushant Lok, which had a lovely energy, with very enthusiastic kids,” she recalls.
“They sent some of their kids to watch our performance and soon after, we started teaching there. My students, kids who are 14, 15 years, have been going every Saturday and conducting classes there.
“And, when somebody leaves, the younger lot take over – I’m encouraging the younger kids to start the program, to take the initiative.”
The classes feature some 20 Saksham regulars. “More want to join but it’s the teachers who decide who can take it up,” explains Butani. “There are also limitations – some of my girls tell me, because we need them for rehearsals in the evening, that their fathers don’t want them out after dark.”
And, why ‘Metamorphosis’? “It’s not just that they have learnt what they’ve seen, and then presented it – I feel that this group of kids have done things with their dance,” says Butani.
“They’re doing a little piece based on the technique and vocabulary of Odissi – that is the special thing about this.”
Butani is keen on expanding ‘Taal Mein Saksham’ to other schools. “To me, it now feels vibrantly alive, after working two years with these kids,” she admits. “I feel it is gaining a little momentum. And there’s also enthusiasm among my students to teach and to take the program forward.”More heartening is the knowledge that here’s a space for the girls, those from Sudhaaya and the pupils from Saksham, to bond. “Dance, and art in general, is something that can transcend boundaries, it can make people meet in a ‘nicer’ way,” maintains Butani.
And besides, members of each group are at an age where they haven’t yet been exposed to the rifts within society. “The Saksham girls are very open, and my kids have been interacting with them, and I like that synergy to develop between students, and between children in general, which is something I wanted to nurture too, along with the dance.”
‘Metamorphosis’ is being hosted by Apparel House, Sector 44, at 6:30 pm on Sunday.