A devotee of Natyam

Verushka Pather, a Bharatanatyam dancer from South Africa who has performed in several countries has numerous awards to her credit. Speaking about her career, she says, “I was four years old when a group of Kalakshetra dancers had come to a program in South Africa. I loved their performance and the music was captivating. When I was five, my parents enrolled me at a local dance school and I’ve always had a flair for dancing.” Her family belongs to Thanjavur and always had the passion to support art.  She had also learnt a great deal from The Dhananjayans in Chennai.

“I learnt Bharatanatyam from my guru Savitri Naidu in South Africa. After completing my schooling, I decided to come to India to completely dedicate myself to the dance form. I wrote to The Dhananjayans in Adayar and trained with them for five years. I had my arangetram in 1998 and family members from South Africa and Japan came down to watch my dance recital,” she fondly recalls. Verushka has gotten the golden opportunity to perform at the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam for the Brahmotsavam. “I love Lord Balaji and performing at the temple is a greatest blessing. A few years ago, I showcased my production Sri Krishna Leela in India and I also revived the tradition of temple dancing. I organised a temple dance tour (with the help of Tamil Nadu government) in South India. It was my desire to bring back the tradition of dancing in the temple courtyard as I’m not just a dancer, but a devotee.” she adds.

Elaborating more about her dance school, she explains, “After learning from The Dhananjayans, I came back to SA and worked as an occupational therapist. But, I wanted to continue only as a dancer and gave it my undivided attention. So, I opened a dance school in a mindset that my learning would grow more. Even though my performances were at the peak then, I decided to venture into teaching.” Verushka is also collaborating with an African dancer for a show that will be a fusion of Bharatanatyam and African contemporary dance.  So, is there any difference when it comes to performing abroad? —“Whenever I’m performing abroad, I pick themes that appeal to them. Instead of showing scriptures, I make sure I use topics like Surya Namaskar, a relationship with a mother and daughter, etc.”