Shuttling gracefully between passion and profession

Bengaluru Bharatanatyam dancer Navyashree B.N. celebrates 25 years with special dance recital Natya Ranjini Mala on April 26.

Bengaluru

Like many passionate artistes of classical performing arts, Bharatanatyam dancer Navyashree B.N., too realised that it would be a Herculean task to just pursue dance without the right financial backing.

“It tends to also pinch your pockets if you do not have the right support,” says the dancer over a call from her dance school, Siddhidatri Natya Shale, which was founded by her in 2020 on Kanakapura Road. Hence, she pursued dance and despite it being a passion, took up a job too to financially support her art.

Navyashree has, over the years, performed as a dancer with various groups and is now branching out as a soloist. That is not all, she also completes 25 years as a dancer, and is celebrating it with an evening of a special dance recital — Natya Ranjini Mala.

The event, states the dancer, besides commemorating her journey in dance, is also a tribute to her grandmother, Shantha K. Swamy. “It was her dream to be a dancer, but in those days, women were not encouraged to pursue dance. So she fulfilled her dream through me and even paid my fees with my grandfather’s pension until I started earning and could support my training,” she recalls.

Navyashree started her training under Ashok Kumar (artistic director of Natyanjali School of Dance, Bengaluru). She was not only one of the youngest members of the dance school, but also performed extensively as part of the school’s dance ensemble. Currently, Navyahsree is training under Charles Ma, director of Adishakti School of Bharatanatyam, Bengaluru. “He specialises in teaching soloists, which is what I am pursuing now,” shares the dancer, who also describes dance as her “first love. I am emotionally attached to the form. My intention is to transfer whatever I have learnt to the next generation.”

Navyashree is trained in the Kalakshetra and Vazhuvoor style of Bharatanatyam, and adds that she will continue to balance her professional and creative journey to support my passion. “Dance is something I plan to continue as long as I can be physically mobile,” she says.