We dropped by the newest venue of a dance studio that believes in creating art using movement, flow and choreography in a free-flowing jugalbandi
Participants learn contemporary dance. Pics/Anurag Ahire
People have skipped an important chapter in dance today, one of pursuing training. I want to fight back.” We are mid-way into our conversation with Dhiraj Bakshi, founder of the Split Sole Dance Academy (SSDA), which has opened its new studio in Santacruz. He is talking about the loss of a sense of commitment to the art form since the pandemic. “There is an expiration date that comes with creating art,” he adds.
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Inside, Eden Pereira, a guest faculty member, is teaching a contemporary dance session as part of a three-day workshop series, where they introduce textures within dance seen across the world in the 21st century. He has just finished teaching a short piece he’s choreographed. Noticing the participants trying to grasp the choreography before the workshop ends, he asks them to take a moment to pause. “What is it that makes you tick? Think about what it is that really keeps you going,” he tells them. “Find that. Don’t be scared to be human,” he adds.
Eden Pereira (in green) breaks down a step for the participants
The participants are given a moment of silence to surrender themselves. This is when they begin to enter a world that is theirs alone; nothing can prick or prod its way in. For 15 years, SSDA has been providing quality education in dance. When Bakshi began conducting classes in 2009, he wanted to bring jazz funk to the city. Today, the studio teaches other forms like contemporary and hip-hop, with its newest addition, open style, where Afia Modak, a core member of the academy, will teach the dance form. Having participated in their sessions on day one, we learnt nuances like how being on stage requires you to understand what it takes to bring the audience into your world, in a way that ultimately, the body remains only a medium of communication.
The audience should be able to peep into the dancer’s soul. At the same time, we were able to gauge that it is this body, nevertheless, that needs to be physically prepared to really be able to do this work. Bakshi is able to recreate the most delicate movements on stage; he could tell a story by a flick of a finger or the slow turning of his wrist. If you blink, you’d miss it, but if you catch it, you would have experienced time stalled momentarily. Each teacher complements the other. Modak moves like water while Harshad Gohil, who leads jazz funk classes, creates ripples when he dances.
The core team members (from left) Afia Modak, Dhiraj Bakshi and Harshad Gohil
Noticing visible shifts in the art form, Bakshi shares, “There was a time when dance videos, which were two to three minutes long, were made almost like films. Today, the audience watches a reel on social media, and they are satisfied. But I have always believed in laying a good foundation in training.” Modak, who trained here in 2009, and joined the company a year later, agrees, “There is a huge difference between the information that goes around, and knowledge that is passed down from teachers.” The trio are hopeful that the new studio will help them contribute to the growth of the community. For Gohil, teachers have a significant role to play, “We are not merely instructors. We can change someone’s life or break someone’s career.”
From: Monday to Sunday; 7.30 pm onwards
At: Split Sole Dance Academy, ground floor, Hi-Life Mall, Railway Colony, Santacruz West.
Log on to: pay.ssda.in
Cost: Rs 3,100 (per month)
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