Rima Kallingal remembers being a wide-eyed, young dancer in Bengaluru when she encountered varied dance forms. Until then she had known only the classical dance forms usually taught in Kerala – Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Kuchipudi, some folk dance and a few steps from some Michael Jackson videos.
As part of the cultural team of her college, Christ College (Bangalore), “the sea of possibilities dance-wise baffled me. And as I stood wide-eyed at the sheer variety I dreamt of a place like this,” Rima’s expressive eyes widen as she talks about her dream.
A ‘place like this’ is her dance school, ‘Mamangam’, which is all set to open soon. With this the accomplished dancer hopes to create a space “for those who want to experience dance in all its variety and it is not going to be training ground for youth festivals,” she says. Youth festival training is known to take the fun out of things and parents’ pressuring youngsters with their expectations.
Hip-hop and Capoeira (a dance-based Brazilian martial art form) will jostle with Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kalari and Yoga. Her long term plans include incorporating other dance forms.
Kerala first heard of Rima Kallingal as a contestant in a dance reality show. She was one of the finalists and was among the show’s popular dancers. She trained in classical dance under Kalamandalam Ranganayiki. It was not the first time that dance opened the world for her, for four years the actor was part of Bengaluru-based dance troupe Nritarutya, with which she travelled the world. An experience which, she says, has prepared her for anything in life, “put me anywhere in the world and I can survive. It gave me confidence.”
As a youngster in Thrissur she wanted to be an artiste but lacked a platform to discover that artiste in her. With its sheer variety of dance companies, Bangalore gave her access to a world of possibilities. “Dance gave me so much more confidence than films. While you are performing on stage, you are giving your 100 per cent…to see the audience receiving and responding to the energy...nothing compares to the instant gratification from a live audience. It is what an artiste thrives on.”
Her dance school, Rima hopes, will do the same and give youngsters a chance to fashion a career out of dance. She hopes it is a space for ‘pure art, pure dance, pure energy and pure fun’. She is currently working on tie-ups with dance companies in India and abroad where her students can intern and explore opportunities.
She will not be teaching but, she says, she has put together a team of teachers from among the best. N. Srikant and Ashwathi for Bharatanatyam, Kishore Mosalikanti for Kuchipudi, Bangalore-based hip-hop duo Sreetharan and Jeevanrekha, Capoeira and Kalari by Dilsagar and Santosh respectively, both formerly of Attakalari. Rima is also working on setting up her own dance company.
While Srikanth and/or Ashwathi will come every week, the others will make fortnightly visits and their students will teach on the other days. The response from these teachers surprised her. “So many of our artistes put in so much of effort into their work and rarely get their due. These teachers were very happy at getting a chance to take their art forward.”
There will be regular ‘Meet the artiste’ sessions where artistes (“not film”) but dancers, musicians and others will share their experiences.
Hip-hop and Bhartanatayam under one roof? “You need to be rooted. Whatever I am today as a dancer it is because of my Bharatanatyam training. Hip-hop is such a beautiful dance form, so much technique. Why would I keep anything away?”
She makes a strong case for girls learning kalari for its obvious benefits not only as exercise but also for self-defence.
The classes, which begin in August, will be held at Café Papaya on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be evening classes on Mondays. For young children and for women who had to give up dance there are Udaya and Punarjani courses respectively. These are apart from the other classes.
She will informally assess prospective students before they are enrolled in order to ensure that the classes are not a fad. Theory classes will educate students about the finer aspects of dance, “so that they are equipped if and when they want to choreograph.”
Apart from the dance classes she plans to hold monthly workshops on dance, “any dance form. It could be classical ballet to salsa or chau. So that kids get to interact with many artistes. They need to know there are a 1001 things happening out there. There is no point sitting in front of social networking sites and watching it.”
Later she wants to bring in theatre…she goes on enthusiastically when she suddenly checks herself, “I hope Kochi shares the enthusiasm!”
For registrations log on to www.mamangam.in
