BENGALURU: For three years, Velu Kumar, a 28-year-old, felt trapped within the four walls of his corporate office. Until early 2016, he finally decided to work towards his dream job as a Hip-Hop artist.
Velu had been dancing professionally for 11 years, since his college days in Bengaluru.
After completing his BCom, to convince his family he had a stable job, Velu took up a career as a financial analyst at a renowned company here. But even then, he continued to attend workshops and even teach young kids as a hobby, keeping his passion for dance alive.
His biggest challenge was having to balance his work life and his passion. “Work was all about mental stress and dancing was physical stress. It did take a toll on me, as I would sleep only four hours a day,” he recalls. He learned that he was able to make the same amount of money with dance. After quitting his job, he joined a show called Bindass Nach in Mumbai, where he was selected to perform at World of Dance, an international dance competition, in the US, in 2015.
Born and brought up in Bengaluru, his first stint as a dancer was in 2007 as a tryout. Velu decided to join a reality show called Who is the next Prabhudeva and ended up in the top 10. Recounting the day when he first realised dancing was his passion, he says, “When I was four, my younger brother used to cry a lot and I would make small movements to make him happy. My mother noticed that and encouraged me after that.”
Currently, Velu teaches about 50-80 kids in several parts of the city. He had also represented India in an international jam called Radikal Forze Jam in Singapore from March 16-20.