“Revival of the theatre culture in metro cities and contemporary dance forms going mainstream in India is a promising sign for people who want to pursue dancing as a career,” says Prashant More, associate artist at Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts (ACMA), a Bengaluru-based dance school.
- InKo Centre, Chennai on April 27, 3 pm to 6 pm
- Attakkalari Studios, Bengaluru on April 27, 4 pm to 5:30 pm
- Stance Dance Studios, Delhi on April 28, 3 pm to 5:30 pm
- Myself and My Moves Studio for Dance, Thrissur on May 5, 4 pm to 5:30 pm
- Rhythmosaic, Kolkata on May 5, 5 pm to 7 pm
- Sway Dance Studio, Ahmedabad on May 11, 7 pm to 10 pm
- Attakkalari Studios, Bengaluru on May 12, 10:30 am to 12 pm
- Attakkalari Studios, Bengaluru on May 26, 4 pm to 6 pm
- Goethe Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, Chennai on June 8, 10 am to 1 pm
- For more details call 9811737441, 99729 50973
He was recently in Visakhapatnam to conduct auditions for a diploma in movement arts and mixed media at the dance school. The course covers Indian classical, contemporary dance, ballet, and other movement techniques. The students also study digital and sonic arts, light design, philosophy and art history so that they can adapt to the latest practices as a professional dancer.
ACMA is a charitable trust formed in 1992, by artistes from different disciplines with the aim to demystify taboos associated with dance. It’s supported by The Royal Norwegian Embassy, Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Department of Culture, Government of India.
According to Sharat Pirates, founder of Destiny Breakers Dance School, most dancers in Visakhapatnam are confused about dancing as a career. “There is more to the field than being a dance trainer. Attending programmes in schools like ACMA helps dancers to use their skills to create opportunities for themselves,” he says. This year three students were selected from Visakhapatnam for the ACMA diploma.
Life is a dancefloor
Prashant, himself a former student of ACMA, the dance school makes the students realise the importance of fitness. “I started paying attention to what I eat and built a habit to workout for at least 90 minutes before dancing,” he says. After completing the diploma in 2012, he worked there as repertory dancer.
Prashant More in his element
Since then, he has performed in Germany, Switzerland, France and Greece and trained under international artistes like Hofesh Shechter, David Zambrano, Jonathan O’Hear and Francisco Cordova. “In the past few years, contemporary and abstract dance have gained popularity in India. As a result, many international trainers have started to visit India,” he says.
According to Prashant, most young professionals like him work on multiple projects — collaborating with other artistes, taking workshops, joining a theatre group or performing at corporate events. Recently he was a part of the Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed by Mumbai-based theatre group The Company Theatre.
