CHENNAI: Touring the mid-West and Boston, dancer Roja Kannan is gearing up for some intensive sessions of dance. Roja, who has been running the dance school Bharatha Natyalalya for the last 27 years, says, “In this tour, we will initiate dance students in the US into the art form and educate them about it.”
Interacting with students in cities like Houston, Columbus, Phoenix and Dallas, apart from Boston state, the week-long sessions will include yoga and a culmination programme on the last day.
“The teachers over there have opened up their schools, inviting us to be part of a programme that will throw light on the rich tradition of dance and expose them to some of the greatest exponents in the field. However, it won’t be restricted to just the students in these schools; other dance students too are welcome to be part of it,” she says.
Roja accompanied by Priya Murle, will teach students about the different banis, discussing ways to explore margams.
With over four decades of experience as a performer, Roja, who belongs to the Kalakshetra bani, has been a regular in the international circuit not just as a performer, but also as a teacher.
“I recently went to Australia and by chance had a few days to interact with dancers in Melbourne. I realised that the students there had a sound technical knowledge,” she adds.
On an earlier tour, Roja was part of the World Harmony Day celebrations in Orange County near Sydney. At the multi-cultural event that included Chinese opera singers, Japanese and Aboriginal dancers, Roja conducted workshops on bharathanatyam for a group of native participants.
“The enthusiasm and interest that the group displayed was amazing,” she says.
Visiting universities in Miami and Ohio, Roja says that the feedback she received from the group that had no prior exposure to the dance form was overwhelming. “They are amazed at the fact that we (Indian dancers) can do aramandis and perform at a stretch in the same pose,” she says.
Roja calls her efforts the duty of a dancer-teacher who has been passed on a tradition by revered gurus.
“As torchbearers of a tradition that our gurus have given us, we as teachers should safeguard it in its purest form. Of course there has to be a change, but it should be within the format,” she says.
Pointing out to dilution in the dance form in the last few years, she says that every guru today has the responsibility to protect the tradition. “Even when I perform abroad, I don’t compromise on the smaller elements. A ballet dancer does not compromise on anything, so why should we? Why should we dance in a salwar kameez or without make up or jewellery. I teach students of all age groups. For each group, I have to adapt a different kind of teaching. Our gurus never had a problem like that. I have seen a sea of change in the way I have to handle students. As a teacher, by and large I have been able to make my students follow the rules without losing students,” she adds.
A disciple of Adyar K Lakshman and Kalanidhi Narayanan, Roja started learning bharathanatyam at actor-dancer Vyjayanthimala’s school Natyalaya. After the actor closed down the school, she resumed classes under Kavi Aravindakshan and later Adyar Lakshman.
“I am still a disciple of Lakshman sir. In fact, he conducted all my recitals till 2011,” she says.
Preparing for the 45th year celebrations of her guru’s dance school, Roja is also set for the Natyaranagam series that will be held in a couple of months.