Bharatanatyam to belly dance

The first impression the word ‘belly dance’ brings to our mind would perhaps be that of a desert safari where dancers entertain the guests with sizzling steps and swaying hips moving in tandem with a fast beat. Most people, however, do not have much clue about the classical side of this dance form. Breaking this myth was one of the challenges for Jyothi Vijayakumar, a professional belly dancer from Kochi, who had shifted her dance studio to Kochi from Bengaluru, two years ago. She had to explain the benefits of belly dance to her students and also that a tummy display is not mandatory.

“The classical belly dance helps the internal organs stay healthy and keeps the muscles intact. This is entirely different from what you are familiar with,” says Jyothi, who teaches Raqs Sharqi, belly dance for ladies. Jyothi was a little apprehensive when she launched her classes in Kochi. “I had opened my studio in Bengaluru three years ago. I had a smooth ride there. But Kochi was challenging. I had to improvise the syllabus and teach belly dance from the beginning, even for established dancers. Like in Bengaluru, here also I went ahead with the weekend classes. But, responses for the Sunday class were poor. I was surprised to see that most of my students were lazy to come on Sundays,” laughs Jyothi, who was a Bharatanatyam dancer before moving to belly dance.

“I did Bharatanatyam for 13 years. I got introduced to belly dance when I was in Mumbai by my Lavani dance (Marathi Dance) instructor. I took it up more seriously after moving to Bengaluru. I have trained under teachers like Sanaz Bhaktiari (Iran), Bea Toth Amaraya (Hungary/ Egypt) and Janka (Slovakia). For the past seven years, I am into belly dance,” says Jyothi. Things have changed for Jyothi over time. Malayalis have become more receptive to new art forms, she opines. A workshop by Jyothi will take place at River Boure, Tripunithura on June 19 from 4 pm to 6 pm.