Ask anyone who takes dance seriously, and he/she would tell you that the art is more than just matching movements with music. It can be therapeutic, stress buster and even liberate one’s mind, body and soul.
Aparna Nagesh, who is entering her 19th year in her dancing career, carries the same sentiment through her work and kickstarted ‘The Move Project’, which is a series of creative movement-based workshops to facilitate life skills, professional skills, self expression, and crisis management amongst teens and young adults.
“Dance extends beyond mere performance and steps — it can bring about a miraculous positive change in your life, if you let it. Sometimes, it’s truly amazing how much a little uninhibited movement can achieve,” starts Aparna, who heads her own all-girls ensemble — High Kicks. The group performed at the prestigious Commonwealth Youth Dance Fest at Glasgow, Scotland in 2014.
A workshop session of The Move Project.
The project evolved out of her many years of experience in dancing. The workshop, consisting of dance, exercises and various other activities, helps participants understand how the body works, and aids facial awareness and helps in recognising the extent of efforts their body can do.
Speaking about how the idea came to her in the first place, Aparna says “I don’t even remember how I thought of it! I’ve always remembered being in dance, and it has helped me with various other activities as well. Only in the past five years, I realised that dance has done the same to a lot of young dancers that I know. I have visibly seen the efforts of this art form paying off for people in various other aspects of their lives. A few years ago, I felt the necessity to undertake such a project.”
The workshops are open to kids right from the age of five and has no age limit set on it. The project works in different ways for different age groups, Aparna explains, “For kids from ages five to nine, the workshop will help them build imagination, creativity, motor skills, and enable them recognise patterns and pathways of technical movement.”
She continues, “Whereas for those between ages 12-16, it helps them overcome stress and anxiety that comes along with puberty, boosts hormonal balance and confidence — apart from making them realise that losing their self consciousness is necessary at times.”
Whereas, for those above 17, the activity can help them understand and improve their body language. “Many people are unaware of how they are perceived even before they can say a single word. I have noticed that as we evolve, we also lose spatial awareness.”
Aparna asserts that the workshops are not just for those who are into dance, but work just as well for people with two left feet. “I also notice that as people get older, they discontinue dancing or any other kind of free movements. I do not know if it is because they are hung up on the fact they have turned older or their wish to act more dignified. Unless they are drunk at a party, they simply do not cut loose and dance without inhibitions. So even for those who have lost touch with movements, the workshop reintroduces it from a fresh perspective.”
Aparna is currently on the process of setting up a space where the workshops will be conducted regularly, but as of now, is concentrating on offering it to school and college goers — “I also find the need to constantly update the syllabus of the workshop, to keep the movements fresh and new for the participants.” Chennai has been extremely receptive of the workshops, she explains.
“The city has given me a good response to this. People who come in understand that they can do it without any stress or worry, and that is the aim of The Move Project, to let loose and enjoy life as it comes.”
