CHENNAI: She was barely six years when she first put on her salangai and stepped into a dance class. Today, she is set to perform her salangai poojai in the city this weekend. K Yuvasakthi Priya(11) speaks to CE about her love for dance, academics and more. “I remember watching several dance programmes on TV when I was young, and that is when I knew that I wanted to dance too. And seeing my interest in this art form, my family decided to enrol me in a dance class,” explains Yuvasakthi.
The little one has surely made her family, friends and gurus proud because she is the first from her community (Kanakkar Schedule Tribe) to be a stage performer. “Our community doesn’t know much about the art forms, but my granddaughter has really worked hard to achieve this,” says A Rajendran.
Yuvasakthi has won over 15 certificates and awards for her dance performances and has been constantly performing in temples, schools and many stages too. In 2013, she was also a part of the 3,000 dancers who were selected to perform to enter the Guinness World Records. “It was held in Pallavan College. The dance recital went on for over an hour. We were all given a certificate as well. That was one of my most memorable performances so far,” she smiles.
So how do you manage dancing and academics? “In the morning I go to school, come back and finish my homework and then by evening I am in my dance class. I don’t miss school or my dance class,” she says. “But after I comeplete my studies, I want to be a professional dancer.”
Which is your favourite posture or mudra in Bharatanatyam? “I love the Natyarambhe posture — it is the one where the hands are stretched out sideways and the elbows are slightly bent and the palms are kept in the pataka hasta,” she explains to the reporter.
Yuvasakthi, who has trained under her Yazhini, founder of Kalalaya Institute of Dance and Music Trust, is all geared up for her salangai pooja on September 17 from 6 pm at Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan, Mylapore.
For details call 24643420