Sometime in 2013 when the King of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan united the people on either side of the Vindhyas with one lungi dance song from the hit film Chennai Express , the small pilgrim town of Madurai too underwent a change with a doctor couple redefining the joy of dancing for the dancers and dance lovers in the city.
Dr. Kavitha Fenn giving a dance performance
Well known neurosurgeon Dr M J Arunkumar (who set up the Hannah Joseph Hospital nine years ago) supported and financed the dream of his wife Dr.Kavitha Fenn Arunkumar, a psychiatrist, and his daughter Nalina Arunkumar (who is now studying medicine at CMC, Vellore). Both were interested in dancing for fun and rued the lack of options in the city. The Youforia Danscool was thus established.
It did not matter whether people had two left feet or wore over-sized clothes. What mattered was the spirit to dance and cheer each other. And gradually the shy and reluctant locals were helped to move and shake their bodies to popular Tamil, English and Hindi filmi dhuns . In a short period, the number of students grew and so did the school with some of the best trained dance masters from this part of the region joining them. No time-bound specialised courses were offered, yet people kept joining. Four years on, parents of toddlers to teenagers and young adults often say they find the school a safe place for their wards to remain creatively engaged. Even special children attend classes here for therapeutic results.
ENTHRALLING PERFORMANCE A dance sequence from the show
In the last three years, Youforia has staged half-a-dozen shows of three hours each and it perhaps reflects the social aspiration gap the dance school filled in. Their events are now much awaited ushering in a happy feeling.
From a time when screening of Hindi films and playing of Bollywood music in public functions was a rarity in Madurai, the acceptance of Hindi film songs has grown to the extent that at some traditional South Indian weddings, people have now started dancing to hindi film songs after taking a crash course here. This is a done thing in bigger cities but it still makes news in Madurai.
ENTHRALLING PERFORMANCE A dance sequence from the show
From a three year old to 50 plus, everybody is suddenly enjoying free style, hip hop, Bollywood, western, salsa, zumba and what not. The school conducts regular classes and generates a kind of positive energy that attracts people who come not necessarily to become a pro. But they de-stress themselves, get trained for an event or a competition and enjoy the few hours spent.
The Temple Town is gradually shaking off its conservative image and parents are allowing their wards to learn contemporary dance styles. Young girls and married women are no longer shy of going on the stage and dancing with an attitude. There are enough people out there who fill up the auditorium and whole-heartedly applaud these performances.
Nalina Arunkumar giving a dance performance
Power packed performance
One such show was staged this last weekend to coincide with the ninth anniversary of the Hannah Joseph Hospital. And it was pure enjoyment and celebration all the way with an extra dose of Hindi film music unlike previous years.
Having watched the team behind these shows from taking baby steps to coming this long, one also found how the dance masters have become a brand name over the years and enjoy tremendous fan following in the city. Each of them had their moments of glory and applause as they brought in their trainees -- from the tiny-tots to college students and young moms to professional dancers – on stage to tap their feet to classical and semi-classical fusion to cinematic folk and retro, street styles, salsa and Bollywood.
If Nageena Rajpurohit’s Kathak was a show stopper, the contemporary style choreographed by her was a masterpiece involving several technical skills.
Nizar Khan’s salsa team, Karishma Rajaani’s Bollywood mix, Rock n Roll and Humma Humma choreography, Rajkamal’s hiphop, Mohan’s and Mohana Sundaram’s freestyle fusion were a brilliant concoction of dazzling lights, shimmering costumes, peppy upbeat music, remix songs and flawless movements.
If it was the flair and elegance of the seniors that stole the hearts, the juniors were no less in setting the stage on fire with their carefree attitude. Like always Parthiban and Kumar’s children’s batch drew the maximum cheer while pairing up for salsa and paying a tribute to the Badshah of Bollywood SRK with a medley of his hit songs from Chennai Express, Fan, Dilwale, Om Shanti Om.
The quick-paced songs and dance sequences did not allow the programme to sag. It was an effortless show with perfect coordination and where each participant with his or her boundless energy and happy pair of feet proved one simple point : when you enjoy doing something the result is always good.
