Dance maestros Farah Khan and Ashley Lobo mentor budding Indian dancers and discuss the scope of being a choreographer in the post-COVID era
In the aftermath of a three-day choreography camp organised by Ashley Lobo’s institute The Danceworx, the Indian-Australian choreographer engaged in a discussion with renowned film and stage personality Farah Khan on how to build a professional dance career within the evolving dance scenario in India and overseas. Given the kind of restrictions imposed by the global pandemic on movement and interactive learning, this session saw over 200 students actively engage with them.
Talking about the session, Lobo said, “The main objective of this session was to expand the understanding of commercial dance in India and create an environment for dancers to approach commercial dance as a career. We wanted to create awareness about what is possible still and equip dancers with the correct information about what it takes to build a professional dance career today. There could be no one better than Farah to interact with the students about these important topics.”
Farah talked about how dance happened to her. “Dance was a very good way for me to forget my troubles at home and the circumstances that we were living in. For me, there was a joy that I would get. It actually saved my life at that point,” she said. Ashley couldn’t agree more. “I think this is very common. It is said that you never choose dance, dance chooses you. It’s always an accident,” he added.
With the gross uncertainty that performing artists are faced with the current COVID-struck era, both of them shared real and helpful things for the enthusiastic bunch of dancers. “Today is a great time for people who are trained in dance and who can choreograph because there is so much work. It’s not only about doing work in films. There is so much work on television as there are thousands of reality shows. Today, there is a different industry where you can do corporate shows. If you do a film song that does well, it becomes your legacy. If you want to make money and a career in dance, there are so many options now, none of which were available to us when we started work,” Farah said.
The session explored various problems that affect the large generation of dancers, which were met with helpful tips from both Farah and Ashley — how does a dancer become an assistant choreographer, being flexible in the dance industry, staying true to one’s passion and art, being trained in more than one dance styles, how its never too late to find your calling and be a dancer, and dealing with the important reality of failure and rejection in the real world and never giving up.
Ashley summed up the crux of the session aptly, painting a very practical picture for the 200+ youngsters looking up to them. “There are various areas you can get into dance because it is a very big world. There are lots of stuff you can do and find your place. You just got to figure out what your place is and where you want to take it. I think you just need to express yourself, have fun with it and discover yourself in the process. You’re constantly trying to reinvent yourself. That excitement translates into the work that is being done,” he said.
The session culminated a camp including a roster of international artistes like Brian Friedman, Exon Arcos, Gabe De Guzman, Jake Kodish, Krista and Autumn Miller in a three-day extravaganza to create opportunities for enthusiasts to learn international styles.
Tuesday, 03 November 2020 | PNS
