CHENNAI: She was all of six when she first stepped into the world of Bharatanatyam. Twelve years later, Riha Giri is a promising young dancer who specialises in the Vazhuvoor Ramaiyah Pillai’s style of dance, which involves more bhava than nritta. The disciple of Vijay Madhavan and a grand disciple of Chitra Visweswaran, Riha will be performing her solo Bharatanatyam recital today.
“I began learning Bharatanatyam about 12 years back. But, I have been performing regularly only for the last three years,” shares Riha, who is pursuing BA History.
Coming from a family of artists, Riha says that early exposure to arts led her to look beyond the conventional. “My parents encouraged me to pursue dance and I paid heed to their suggestions. Gradually, I fell in love with the art form…the way it was taught to me, I made myself open to it. That’s how the journey began,” she narrates.
Ask her who is her inspiration and she says without hesitation, “My guru, Vijay Madhavan. I first heard about him and the dance school when I met my friend during a puppet-making competition. Once she introduced me to him, I found myself bowled over by the love he had for the art and the way he taught. There has been no looking back ever since!” she declares.
Her first performance was in 2012, and surprisingly until then, Riha had never been on stage. “My arangetram was my first ever performance on stage. It was in Krishna Gana Sabha and it was a lovely experience to perform in front of Sheela Rajendran. I was a student of PSBB and she was the chief guest,” gushes the 18-year-old who has performed in multiple stages including the Chennai Cultural Academy, Brahma Gana Sabha and Sreenivasa Cultural Trust.
A student of history, she says she loves discovering facets of the past along with her love for dance. “I have always been interested in studying about the history and past of our country. Also, doing this gives me time to juggle between my academics and dance,” shares Riha who hopes to pursue dance as a full-time career someday. “My guru has dedicated his life for dance and that’s what I want to do as well. My family is supportive too.”
Her biggest inspirations are dance exponents Padma Subramanyam, Chithra Visweswaran and educationist Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy. Performing during the Margazhi season is an exhilarating experience for every artiste and Riha concurs, “For a young dancer like me, to dance and share space with senior artistes is an amazing experience.”
Riha Giri will be performing today at Karnataka Sangha school, TNagar, from 2.30 pm onwards. For details, call:28343252