You can be a professional irritatedly clacking away on your weekday computer, a consultant who is forever unsure of herself, or a graduate trying to impress interviewers with your clarity of thought – there are some skills that are never taught to you in schools or universities, but which you miraculously need to have, the minute you step out into the real world. Young Bengaluru is eager to learn how to be more presentable, how to speak with élan, how to polish one’s public self and how to find their core in a maddening world.
At no time have so many self-improvement courses, movement therapy and presentation workshops or self-seeking classes been held in this city. So, who are the people who sign up for these guidances and how do they benefit from it?
Ranji David, who is holding a Characterisation Workshop will be utilising the tools of spirituality, dance and surprisingly, clowning to bring a group of people out of their shells. “Fifteen years ago it was a challenge for me to speak to people, but in 2012, I was a TED speaker. With theatre I have discovered how to break the barrier of social inhibition and that is exactly what the people who have registered for the workshop want as well— whether it is because they want to develop a career in acting or because they wish to resolve organisational problems through communication in their own corporate setups. It is very liberating for a CEO to take up something like clowning —to make a fool of yourself, and to open yourself up to the people around you. Consequently, most of my attendees are 25 to 30 years old,” says the theatre director and facilitator.
Another person who uses movement and art classes to bring people out of their shells is Brinda Jacob Janvrin of Smart Studio. An experienced contemporary dancer who heads the Studio for Movement Arts and Therapies and has conceptualised the foundation course in expressive and creative arts therapies, Brinda says, “We believe in unleashing the active imagination within you. You may be under stress, or suffering from anxiety — in which case we initiate the process through which the dance movements, theatre dialogues, or paintings you make will give you a clue as to the symbolic workings of your unconscious self. To be able to receive an insight into your dreams and what you see in them is something that art greatly aids.”
Priya Kumar, an author and motivational speaker, who encourages young professionals on their career paths, says, “The ultimate polishing should happen within. It is 80 percent the listener and 20 percent the speaker’s responsibility. No matter what we say from the stage, if at least a single sentence of my speech does not resonate with you then no number of classes will help you open up.”
