'Dance Karona': Indian dancer's digital classes help beat lockdown blues

An award winning Indian dancer and choreographer in the UK has started offering a range of online sessions on Indian and Western music under the banner 'Dance Karona' to participants from several nations to beat the blues after the coronavirus lockdown led to cancellations of her upcoming performances in several countries.

'Dance Karona' -- says Kuchipudi dancer Arunima Kumar, who begins her class with a digital hug to participants from Poland, Spain, Britain, India, US, Brazil and the UAE.

Arunima, former Delhi Police chief Neeraj Kumar's daughter and a London School of Economics (LSE) graduate, left her corporate career to run a dance company in London and the news of the lockdown brought her cancellations for upcoming performances in UK, Poland and France, putting her team under pressure financially and emotionally.

However, few days later she had over 100 participants grooving to both Indian and Western music digitally with Arunima offering a range of sessions using Facebook, Instagram and Zoom.

The classes include yoga, Indian classical dance, Bollywood fitness, chair dance moves for the elderly with breathing exercises, among others which are also customised as per demands of participants.

"It was depressing, scary and we felt we had lost our livelihood. It was our darkest hour. I have worked hard past 10 years to build my team and company, engage with my communities through Indian art and culture and at a time when there is so much anxiety and stress, I felt I must stay resilient.

"I believe that physical distancing may be a new reality in these times but not social distancing. Socially, we must stay connected even more, else we will lose our sanity," she told PTI.

She said she was also connecting with artists who have suffered huge losses in their profession due to the lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that has claimed more than 160,000 lives worldwide.

"Without people there are no arts and the gig economy is the hardest hit. So it's critical that artists come together in new ways and continue to do what they love - let arts heal the world. Due to this disruption, technology is enabling us to be connected to anyone across the globe online. The world is our stage, through a screen," she added.

Arunima, a trained Kuchipudi dancer, an Ustad Bismillah Khan awardee and Sahitya Kala Parishad Scholarship for Dance in 1998, plans to take performances online too. She is also empanelled as an Established artiste with the Indian Council of Cultural Research.

She has 700 performances to her credit which include her dance at the Buckingham Palace for the Queen's reception to mark the UK-India Year of Culture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit at Wembley stadium where she presented her choreography before 70,000 people and world media as well as Rashtrapati Bhavan in India.

According to Kornelya, a participant from Poland, "we need this, it was super energetic and now I am in a positive mood. Next time, I will bring my husband Roberto".

"To me, it was meaningful because I got fired last week from my job. I was so low but today I could smile and dance and be free," she said.

For Mala Kumar, "it is fun and fitness at its best and there is a reason to dress up and feel good during the lockdown. After two weeks of isolation, I felt happy. I was e-meeting others and had put on make up. It is also great for kids as they can exercise, sing and dance. They feel normal despite the physical closure of schools".

Arunima also has an extra-hand during digital classes. Her 6-year-old daughter Aishwarya Gupta, who is now at home until schools open again. "She joins in on most sessions, changes her costumes. This keeps her healthy and happy. It's a special moment for me too," she said.

Several countries across the globe have imposed lockdown to curb the spread of the deadly virus which has infected more than 2 million people worldwide.