HYDERABAD: Not everyone can live their dream and here is a man, Vasikarla Srikanth, populary known as Sri, who achieved his dream and is so passionate about living it every day with new energy. He was born to dance. A boy who grew watching Chiranjeevi and his crazy dance moves always dreamt of making him groove to his beats one day.
After his intermediate he took the road less travelled – left his home in Khammam and came to Hyderabad – to become a choreographer. After years of struggle, in 2009 Sri set up his dance studio – a place where he is lives his passion and dreams, every day.
A self-taught dancer, Sri and his brother grew up watching and imitating Chiru and Michel Jackson. “As a six- year-old I remember, my brother and I would be glued before the television, trying to memorise the steps we saw. And this watch and learn continued – so I like to call myself a self-taught dancer,” explains Sri who is also the dance and fitness guru of more than 200 Hyderabadis. From a mother of two children, to three-year-old children, Sri has managed to attract people of all age groups.
While fitness via the fun way is the buzz word among the middle and younger generation, Sri Dance Studio’s rock ‘n’ roll that attracts the children.
Like many of his students Sri also puts fitness at a pedestal. But says 55 minutes is all you need to be fit. "I believe that a 55-minute-class can be transformed into an amazing experience that can inspire people to achieve their personal fitness goals.”
Sri is also of the view that fitness has a lot to do with ones mind. “Everything begins in your mind. We know that our lives are sedentary but we don’t want to take time out to exercise,” he says.
This is why he decided to chart out the fitness regimen for his clients in a way that each session is more of fun and less of boring exercise.
“You can expect to burn up to 1,000 calories during a one-hour session and each day of the week focuses on a different body part so you are never neglecting any areas. At Sri Dance Studio, I try to combine instructions and rocking music for a truly transformative experience. The exercise programme focuses on rhythm and the ‘energy of the pack,” he elaborates.
The dancer and fitness expert opines that dance is an effective and seriously addictive workout that “allows people to burn calories and sculpt their bodies without any prior dance experience. The workout is designed to allow anyone to jump right in, regardless of fitness background.”
Besides energy packed dance, Zumba too has a lot of takers at the studio. “From youngsters to aged, everyone is attracted to Zumba.You don’t need to be a dancer to understand and execute steps in this dance form. Just do whatever you can, have fun and burn anywhere from 600 to a 1,000 calories per session. It has dance, lots of fun and is a wonderful way of keeping in shape,” says Sri.
Fitness for Sri is thus “all about sweating it out and having fun”.
One hour, six days a week it is enough to keep you in shape, he says.
Another aspect of fitness is diet and according to Sri, it is as important as exercise.
“Losing weight and getting fit has a lot to do with diet as it is with exercise. One needs to have a balanced diet and work out at least three to four times a week to not just lose weight and also to get a fit and toned body,” he says as he signs off.