Youngsters shift Focus to Modern Dance

By Srikant Mohanty: Dance outlines the sublimity of creative expression. Dance movement is yet another therapy that helps to make active imagination. In a novel but path-breaking book, “Dance therapy & depth Psychology”, American author Joan Chodorow elucidates the wonderful good effects of dance on human body, psyche and emotion.

Be it any occasion, dance is a magnificent medium that expresses emotions. This is evident now-a-days, when on the occasion of marriage procession, septuagenarians even shake their legs to the tunes of band. The tribals living in the mountainous terrains uniquely form human chains and dance to the beats of drums that symbolises human relationship and joy.

Although, Odissi as a dance has got an exalted position in every Odia family, the state is now-a-days lauded as a place with excellence in every form of dance. Interest of the younger generations took an unprecedented leap, when the “Prince Group” from Berhampur won the national talent competition “India’s Got Talent” in the year 2009. Subsequently, many participants from the state have won laurels for their performance in different forms of classic and modern dance.

Temple city has different upcoming institutions to coach modern western dance. Hip-hop, break dance, Salsa, modern, contemporary and even Sambalpuri forms of dance has got the taste of younger generations. As the trend goes, different schools and educational institutions of the capital city hire the services of gurus of modern and western dance to impart lessons to their pupils. Parents show unusual interest in teaching dance to their children. Unlike the past, learning modern dance is now-a-days not limited only to upper-sections of the middle class; children and parents from average middle class families take an unprecedented interest in learning modern dance.

“Unlike Odia families, young couples from outside the state take my service to learn modern dance at their residences. Modern dance draws people like magnet and truly, there is no age bar, when it comes to learning. The response is overwhelming from the youngsters. There are wonderful dancers in my school, who have gone to the national competition.

As dance is both relaxation and exercise, it keeps you to both fit and free from stress. Young boys and girls from schools and colleges have exceptional ability in all forms of modern dance. Odisha is gradually becoming a hub of brilliant dancers in modern dance”-says Biswa Ranjan Mallick- a nationally acclaimed dancer and teacher of modern dance at Bhubaneswar. His “New Style Dance Academy” has more than 200 students and he teaches at distinguished institutions like Loyola and St. Xavier Schools.