We all live in a money based society and that is not going to change in our lifetime. But here is a group of young dancers not chasing money. “We want to be known by our ability to dance and help others, not by how much we want to or can earn per show,” says C.Aswath Kumar, founder of Gravity Breakerz Art Academy.
He moves around with a dozen dancers, bags slung over their shoulders, taut stomachs beneath their T-shirts. You perhaps wouldn’t recognise them even though they have appeared in favourite TV shows like the 7Up dance competition or Ungalil Yaar Adutha Prabhu Deva . Financially they are not very strong even though they have performed in newyear shows, acted in few odd films or Bharathiraja’s popular TV serial Thekkathi Ponnu . But what binds them together in one of the most competitive professions is their determination to sweat themselves to the greatest height.
Dance is their passion but many of their parents feel they have no future in what they are doing. Yet nothing stops them from hitting the dance floor at their studio in Bethaniyapuram everyday. The group of 20-odd is an interesting medley of graduates and college-goers who met at various dance competitions during college culturals in the last five years. From Tamil, History, B.Com, visual communication and engineering, karate and fitness student, each of them comes from a different background. As friendship strengthened they realised each of them was searching for that unique freedom to learn and to engender responsibility to self and others.
Half of them are still in college but after their study hours they conduct classes to inspire kids and youths to self-exploration and the grace of dancing. “We want people to be aware of health and fitness,” says S.Sakthivel, who owns a gym and also keeps the dancers in his troupe fit.
Says Arun Adam, most people and dance schools conduct courses for namesake and money. “We combine yoga, gymnastic, silambam, and even drawing with all styles of dance and offer a holistic package to all those who are eager to learn from us.”
All the Gravity Breakerz members divide their time between practice, teaching, studying and doing shows, most of it free of cost. Building a good reputation, is all that they desire of now.
A.Edwin Raja is a trained gymnast and Sakthivel a trained fitness expert while Aswath found his passion for dancing at a young age and attended various workshops in Chennai and Mumbai to gain proficiency. The rest joined them either to relieve stress or develop skills that are traditionally not taught in our educational institutions or simply because they loved to dance.
For instance, Arjun, an engineering student’s drive to become popular in his college made him learn dance while Tamil student A.Manoharan realises that in his remote village, the children are not aware of performing arts. As an important co-dancer in Gravity Breakerz, he is keen on imparting dancing skills to his village kids.
The team feels the future generation is too much under academic pressure. Neither the parents nor the teachers understand the importance of extra-curricular activities. And so, they want to help children to know about the world beyond classrooms and textbooks waiting to be explored.
Dance provides students a vital outlet for self-expression. Arjun wows how his self-confidence soared through the study of dance. “When you are able to perform before a crowd, it does wonders to your self-esteem,” he says
It is through a combination of activities that the team wants to expand its reach. The members want to empower themselves as positive community role models. How? By doing charity shows. Five months ago they scorched the atrium of Vishal Mall with their agile and swift moves to raise funds for five disabled sportspersons from Madurai who had qualified for the 2014 Commonwealth para-sport.
They have also done fund raising shows for HelpAge India, the NGO for elderly care and support and Rotary Clubs.
“Many times we end up spending our own money but it doesn’t matter because we want to be motivators teaching the right things,” says R.Balachander. “Since we all belong to different fields, we are able to include a wide range of issues in our trainings and performances,” adds Arun.
The team has done over 50 shows across the State so far and have also tied up with various city schools to teach the students some form of dance.
“Even though not all can dance, everybody should try to dance. It is good for the body and the mind,” says Sakthivel.
Clearly, their love for dance is common because it means happiness to them. “It also helps to bond well with others”, says Aswath, and adds with a smile, “striking a friendship requires no money.”
(Making a difference is a fortnightly column about ordinary people and events that leave an extraordinary impact on us. E-mail soma.basu@thehindu.co.in to tell her about someone you know who is making a difference)
