There was a time when dancer and choreographer Yuvraj D. thought he would never bond with special children. From there, he has come a long away. He is now on a mission to teach autistic children free of cost.
This change of heart was largely effected by Arvind, a child with autism who was enrolled in Yuvraj’s dance camp. To his pleasant surprise, Yuvraj enjoyed teaching this autistic kid. He felt encouraged when Arivind’s parents reported to him visible changes in their child’s behaviour.
“I am not trained to teach autistic kids and was therefore surprised at my ability to handle them. All it takes is patience and understanding. Punishment and rebuke never work with them. I have adopted a play-way method to teach them,” says Yuvraj, who has taught 25 special children so far.
Whenever he gets these children to dance to the beat, Yuvraj is thrilled. “If I can help them synchronise movement with rhythm, I can consider the effort successful,” he says. It takes Yuvraj three days to learn about a new student, which is essential before he starts the dance lessons. “These kids will not listen to you unless they are comfortable with you. We need to understand each other. The first three days are for knowing my students and letting my students know me,” says this resident of T. Nagar.Also, Yuvraj says dance is therapeutic for these children. “Like music and art, dance too can be used as therapy. It creates a connection between a person’s physical and mental abilities.”
He makes home visits for children with special needs. He is also willing to conduct free dance workshops for special schools and NGOs. He can be reached at 99400 75711.
