CHENNAI: Sara D’Cruz, an entrepreneur, was only 10 years old when she fell in love with ballroom dancing and jiving. As men in crisp formal suits and women in graceful gowns gathered at her grandfather’s backyard in Perumbakkam for their annual Christmas get-togethers, she would hold her ‘gramps’, follow his lead and sway to the music. “I used to dance with different people.
Switching partners, conversations, and dancing through the night — I grew up witnessing all this. Thanks to the early exposure, social dancing became an inseparable part of my life. It was perhaps one of the few places where it was safe and okay to have physical contact with another person. It was a very immersive experience.
The joy of social dancing cannot be described until one experiences it, but in the pandemic, it has turned out to be one of the most dangerous activities, and that’s upsetting,” shares the 35-year-old. Waltzing and shuffling on the dance floor, swinging to Salsa and Bachata tunes, dancing cheek-to-cheek, sliding and bumping into co-dancers — the coronavirus with its unapologetic power has robbed us humans of one of the most glorious interactions — social dancing, among other joys of life. What was once considered to be a way of bringing people together, has now been rendered a nightmare by COVID-19.
No mask, no dance
For 60-year-old Celine William, who met the “love of her life” on the dance floor at a party in a community hall, the thought of social dancing becoming a potential threat in this virusridden world has been gnawing her. “I met my husband on the dance floor. Three minutes of being pulled together while dancing to Can’t stop falling in love, quick glances while switching partners, peels of laughter and whatnots. We fell in love.
Now, 40 years later, we still hold hands and dance together in the confines of our home. But in the current situation, to think of all the laughing, shouting over the music, dancing, heavy breathing and sweat droplets…social dancing, sadly, seems like a threat,” she shares over a video call. Her husband, William, a retired Railway employee quips, “Maybe the kids should wear a face shield, mask and gloves while dancing!” Celine scoffs at this but quickly agrees. “Though that doesn’t sound appealing, that may be the way forward. But will dancing with a stranger feel safe again?” she asks, echoing the question in the minds of many.
Rattled by the risks of the virus, dance instructors and artistes in the city, who specialise in teaching social dance forms, are now trying to gauge the losses, uncertainties, and finding appealing alternatives for social dancing. “The last three-odd months have been a bad time for the dance community. There are no dance classes, shows or social dancing opportunities, and there’s been no work for artistes from most pockets of the city. Until a vaccine is found, tried and tested, people will hesitate to step into a physical dance class. Even if they do, will they be willing to dance closely with a partner? Will they be comfortable dancing in a crowded room? Will they opt for a style like Zumba that doesn’t require a partner? There is fear in everyone’s mind and it could take a while before the situation returns to normal. When it does, we are hoping to bounce back,” shares Vinu John, artistic director of The Verb School of Dance.
Fingers crossed
The virus and its ramifications have hit the socialdance world, torn many businesses that depend on it and shaken the community. Praveen of Salsa Chennai hasn’t curated a single dance session or workshop since the beginning of March. “This is my primary source of income. Despite less cash inflow, I didn’t want to teach social dancing styles online. I felt the joy of social dancing would get washed down in the virtual world,” he says. Praveen’s life revolves around hand-dancing, meeting people and taking the joy of the art to others.
He remains optimistic and sees this pandemic as a learning opportunity. “It has given us time to pause and develop alternative skills to prepare for the future. However, I wouldn’t write off the future of social dancing. There are countries like Ukraine, which will be conducting social dancing festivals with around 500 people. Instances like these give us hope. While the scare is prevalent, people are willing to get together in small groups and dance. But we don’t want to risk the lives of people just to ease the financial slump or to keep the art thriving.
So, we have paused everything for now. The government should identify ways in which the arts industry can resume,” he shares. Since most artistes are self-employed, it has raised a serious question about the future of their livelihood, he adds. “Like certain countries that have an active welfare system for those who are self-employed, a small consideration in terms of financial support can be provided to those in India too,” says the Salsa and Urban Kiz instructor, who during the lockdown, along with his wife Bhuvaneswari (Buna), has been sharing Urban Kizomba dance routines on their Instagram page @Praveen.buna.
Studios to screens
Conducting regular socials, dance workshops, Latin dance festivals and Salsa classes were Salsa Madras’ Arun Srinivasan’s mainstays. Now, the instructor, along with his team, has moved to the virtual medium. “We shut our physical studio even before the government announced the lockdown. There was too much at stake and we didn’t want to put anyone’s health at risk. So we began conducting online classes and surprisingly, they’ve been a huge hit! It’s been four months now and we’ve got close to 50 to 60 registrations per month. People from different cities, states and countries are now learning together and that’s exciting,” enthuses Arun, who’ll be curating the 7th Latin Festival Madras edition online. Although Arun acknowledges that the ‘social perspective’ of dancing has taken a backseat in virtual classes, this has become a period of self-exploration for many students.
“In social dancing styles, there are good leads and followers but most times, the individuals don’t focus on developing their skills and becoming overall good dancers. This arrangement, of having online classes, has given time for students to focus on their style, skills and movement, become good artistes and improve the dancing quotient. This doesn’t require a partner,” he elaborates. Kokila Hariram of Academy of Modern Danse concurs. “It’s only in the last decade or so that the notion of social dancing has been linked to dancing with a partner. It’s not just about the partner, it is also about the passion for the art. Most social dance styles, including Salsa and Bachata, focus on footwork and it can be worked on an individual level. While the experience of meeting people on the dance floor might have come to a halt, the skills and techniques can still be learned.
My students encouraged me to conduct online classes, and they have been fun and successful,” she shares. Concerns over online schooling, job losses, pay cuts and risk of life, among others, needed to be temporarily put to rest, and this mooted the idea for “online socials” and dance parties. After all, the dance floor is possibly one of the few places where no one, almost never, looks into their cellphones. It is the one space that allows individuals to step away from their daily life and let their minds and bodies feel a host of emotions, without having to say anything to the people they meet.
“The classes go on for anything between 30-40 minutes and the focus is on footwork, styling and other techniques. It gives a vent for students to let loose after working from home, and stay happy! I think we’ve learned to look past the current situation and are trying to understand what more to do with it,” she shares. Varun Kumar, who has been learning under Kokila for over seven years, says that social dancing gave him the confidence to communicate efficiently with people from varied walks of life. He could never manage this before, he adds. “I think it was one of the best decisions I’d ever made. The online classes have been a real stress buster for me.
Every Thursday, I just step right into the world of online dancing, though it’s without a partner now but, I’m not complaining! We’ve been doing some ‘ghost’ dancing, and a lot of solo dancing, working on our style, footwork, and confidence. The flip side is that I don’t get to dance with a partner, don’t get to go to parties and hang out with dance buddies. But, let’s wait for a vaccine, and I’m sure this will all come roaring back to life!” he says, sounding optimistic. People across the globe, for years, have been developing bonds on the dance floor, soaking in the joys of human connections that happen at ease during social dancing. “When that experience is taken away and overnight the ability to dance together suddenly disappears, it throws you off guard and pulls you out of the comfort zone. But, the future will be better for those like us who have been bringing in a new dimension to human relationships. We will feel safe again and we will hold hands again,” shares Sara. Amen to that!