“Fitness gave me a scientific approach to looking after myself for dance,” says Vani Bhalla Pahwa, exercise specialist, and Bharatanayam and Mohiniyattam dancer, from Gurugram. Between rehearsals for Samvaad — an upcoming show organised by her guru Bharati Shivaji’s The Mohiniyattam Collective — Pahwa makes time for a conversation over a bowlful of salad, and a cup of black coffee. Pahwa talks about the show and of bridging engagement between her dual careers of classical dancing and fitness coach.
In the show, four Mohiniyattam dancers are collaborating with a Manipuri, Odissi, Sattriya, and Chhau artiste each in separate segments. Tell us how this works.
These are styles that lend very well to the mood and aesthetics of Mohiniyattam. Unlike [a usual] jugalbandi, where one does their bit and then the other does theirs, we were very clear that there should be a connect — that there is a dialogue both in terms of music and choreography. Each segment is between 25 and 30 minutes long. Each style stands out, and they all also complement one another.
How does fitness and dance feed into one another?
One of the simplest, but biggest takeaways that has seeped from my dancing into my fitness has been mindfulness. . When you’re on stage, you’re performing for an audience, yes, but the hallmark of a great dancer is that you’re also able to transcend that reality. When I took to fitness, it was at a time when I wasn’t able to rehearse. When you make movement intense, it makes you get in touch with yourself, mentally and physically. So, coming from dance to fitness, I carried that sense of mindfulness quite naturally. I find it amusing when people make a distinction between yoga as a mindful workout vis-a-vis gym-ing as a mindless one. Even when I was lifting heavy weights, I was always tuned in to my breath, conscious of where my movement was taking my body.
In Samvaad, you’re collaborating with Rakesh Sai Babu, aChhau dancer. What have you learnt about that form?
For this generation that is looking to fitness and athletics, I’d say, watch a Chhau performance! Mohiniyattam is a soft-looking style, and it totally belies the control that a dancer has to exercise, to maintain flow and grace.
Samvaad, 1st March at 7p.m., Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre
Vangmayi Parakala
