New York- based Prashant Shah, a senior disciple of Kathak guru Kumudini Lakhia, is a member of the Kadamb performing troupe. A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Yuva Puraskar, Shah is known for his masculine grace and a firm grip on the techniques of Kathak. He has a repertoire of innovative work, some of which was presented at the recent Sanrachana Festival in Imphal.
Here, Shah takes up a few questions on his journey in Kathak. Excerpts:
Why did you choose at made you choose dance as a profession?
I come from a family of chartered accountants but some people like me follow their heart. I loved dance from early childhood. I never made a conscious decision of becoming a professional dancer, it just happened. I feel blessed to have parents who believed and supported me to follow my passion. Kathak came into my life because of circumstances. My elder sister Alpa was enrolled in Kadamb, Kumudini Lakhiaji’s school. Soon I was noticed by Kumiben, who took me into her classes and I literally elbowed my way to the first row.
How difficult or smooth is dance as a profession?
For me, it wasn’t exceptionally difficult because fortunately I had supportive parents, and friends. But for a man to be a full-fledged classical dancer is not what people generally look up to. Thankfully, I had great support from my mentor Kumudini Lakhia who made me work hard and pushed me to the performance scenario.
I think every profession is difficult and smooth at the same time. One needs dedication, passion, perseverance towards one’s profession. My journey in dance has experienced both. Every day seems difficult as we strive towards excellence. At the same time, it is also a smooth ride as there is so much satisfaction and each day is a new day. Of course, things appear silky smooth with sufficient inflow of finance, in which area there is tremendous insecurity, yet we live with zest and discover ourselves every moment.
How viable is your profession in making two ends meet?
It is difficult to survive on performances alone. It takes a great many years to get there. Dancers are a most gutsy community. We accept our financial uncertainty as a fact of life. Only a few teachers and choreographers are lucky financially. I think it will be encouraging for the arts in general if we get more government and private aid in the form of scholarships at the training level and later on grants targeting research and choreography and to allow established artistes to help carry it as a profession.
What were your high points and low points in your career?
Recognition, reviews and rewards bring a sense of responsibility to me. So for me they are not high points. They in fact make me more confident in living my life as a dancer. All the opportunities that came my way have been high points in my dance life. But it is the ‘low’ points that have actually helped me to grow.
