Sujay Shanbhag is just 18-years-old, but comes across as a mature young man. This youngster started dancing when he was barely three. Yes, you read it right. He says as a child he would fall asleep to the tunes of Hariprasad Chaurasia.
“No one in my family comes from a background in the arts. I read about Vasundhara Doreswamy when I was in class one when we lived in Mysore and then told my father that I wanted to learn dance from her. That’s how my journey in classical dance began,” says Sujay.
He enjoyed watching dance performances on television. “I was so enamoured by Kelucharan Mohapatra . I like Birju Maharaj as well.” His father’s narration of mythological stories also triggered his interest in dance.
“I found Bharatanatya the perfect vocabulary to bring these characters alive.”
He participated in the National Balashree for the first time when he was five years old. He was conferred with the National Balashree Award for Creative performances when he was 15.
“We were asked to choreograph short dance pieces and had to conduct introductions through dance movements. I used Bharatanatya as my language. I was chosen from among 300 participants.”
Sujay is a trained mridanga performer, classical singer, Yakshagana dancer, theatre artiste and is learning the Kalaripayattu. He also is a studious BBM student.
“All this helps the body be flexible and light. Theatre helps in my understanding of the stage and abhinaya and music is the life of dance. I generally learn any art that can enhance my dance. I also dance when I am stressed.”
The misconception that dance is feminine is wrong, he explains. “I believe that dance has no gender but it has both the aspects of – lasya (grace) and tandava (force). And even my teacher always tells me to dance like a man.”
His dream is to build an art village in Karnataka inspired by Nrityagram.
“The award is the first step. I have a long way to go. I feel that we youngsters should not ignore Indian arts. There are many foreigners who learn and propagate our arts. We have a rich cultural heritage and we should put in some extra effort.”
