The 19th Asia Pacific Dance Competition, organised by the Commonwealth Society of Teachers of Dancing, will see competitive dancers from numerous countries converge in Kuala Lumpur from August 16. Two Chennai-based dance schools will be representing India there. Firstly, the Academy of Modern Danse, founded by dance-loving couple Kokila and Gautam in the year 2000, has been the sole Indian representative at the competition for the last five years, and consistently done the country proud.
“Our team consists of children as young as six,” says Kokila, or Koki, as she is fondly called, “So we needed quite a bit of time to prepare. We have someone participating in every category, from solos, to duets to ensembles to groups. The solo performers need quite a bit of time and attention.”
The competition has the categories of jazz, ballet, national dances, contemporary and modern. While the classical performances demand technical finesse and nuance, it is the free style contest that has Kokila most excited. “You have to stick to the norms in most dances,” she says, “In free style, we can innovate. I remember the year we first experimented with Bollywood dance: soon, a number of other countries were performing to Bollywood numbers too, including China, who actually did pretty well!”
With rehearsals having been on since April, and the costumes nearly set, the team of 25 youngsters is ready to fly to Malaysia. “The teams from The Philippines and China are always good, but they have become used to looking to us for something new,” says Kokila, proudly.
Kokila’s former student, Balaji, now a dance trainer in his own right, will be bringing a team of his own to the competition this year. His Spin Dance Studio, which set shop in 2011, is set to make its Asia Pacific Dance Competition debut with a team of 25 dancers.
“We have been practising from 7 pm to 9.30 pm everyday for months,” says Balaji, hoping his hard work bears fruit on stage.
