Thirty-seven-year-old Sanjay Shankar Mahanti has grown up with the sound of ghungroos as five generations of his family have dedicated themselves to the classical dance forms. Sanjay is himself a trained classical dancer in Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam.
He says he remembers waking up to the sound of the nattuvangam being played by his mother. And it was from his dad that he learnt the intricacies of dance forms. Besides being his father M. Venkateswara Rao is also his guru. So no one was surprised when young Sanjay decided to take up classical dancing seriously.
Shouldering a legacy
He was formally introduced to dance at the age of two and gave his first public performance a year later. “Back then Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam were the most sought-after dance forms in the city. Even now, these are the two widely practised classical dance forms. However, over the years the city has opened up to many other dance forms.” The dancer has also learnt hip-hop.
Sanjay currently heads the Visakha Dance Academy which was established by his parents almost 60 years ago. While he enjoys his passion to the full, he recollects how it was never easy being a male dancer in a society that stereotyped dance as being for the girls! He was bullied, taunted and ridiculed for this by his classmates.
Visakhapatnam , Andhra Pradesh : 27/11/2018: Sanjay Shankar Mahanti, an accomplished Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam dancer who runs the 60-year-old Visakha Dance Academy. Photo : Special Arrangment
It came to such a stage that Sanjay almost gave it all up. “The bullying was so bad that one day I walked up to my father who was also my guru and said that I did not want to pursue dance any more. He laughed and questioned my determination and perseverance. Since then, there has been no turning back,” he says.
No easy way out
The number of men in classical dance is still significantly lower, observes Sanjay. “When my father conducted classes there were at least 15 male dancers training under him. But I hardly have two or three male students out of 45,” he says. He believes that the need of the hour is having dance workshops and interactive sessions to create awareness about dance. ‘Address the perceived stigma, don’t ignore it’ is Sanjay’s contention.
He rues, “I have been teaching for over 14 years, I have not been able to chisel one seasoned dancer. Students drop out after a while as academics take over their lives and are prioritised over the arts.”
There are more dance shows being hosted in the city now, but the number of students of dance remains far from satisfactory. “Dance shows are not just for entertainment, they are also there to inculcte a culture of art appreciation among the patrons. I have noticed that not many people are dance enthusiasts in the city,” he says.
