First Interview...

INTERVIEW WITH PARVATHY MENON

- Sunanda Varma

2nd Bcom A&F shift 1

Parvathy Menon, post diploma holder from Kalakshetra, is a serious advocate of the discipline with unrelenting passion for the great art form inherited from the past. As a Guest Artist of Kalakshetra as well as partner in Dance with Shijith Nambiar, Parvathy Menon has already achieved a place in the highly challenging artistic arena in India and abroad. Her outstanding expressive skills and ability to work within the traditional framework make her performances elegant and communicating. She respectfully attributes her success to all her Gurus especially from Kalakshetra.

                     

She started learning Bharatanatyam at the tender age of 4 under the guidance of Miss Chella Shekar in Australia; she recognized her inner potential and hence took her under her wing. She was always into dancing ever since she could walk, always swaying along with tunes of each film song which stimulated her parents to send her for dance classes. Over the years she has had many gurus amongst whom she cannot pick a favorite, as she considers herself fortunate to be each of their disciples. Each one has influenced her by a great deal. All her former gurus followed the Kalakshetra style of Bharatanatyam making it easy for her to adapt to each of them.

"Dance is my passion", she quoted. She didn't have any fixed ambition of taking science or commerce as her under graduation. All she knew and cared about was learning dance. Having dance to give her company, she never felt homesick after moving to Chennai. The way of life at Kalakshetra, which involved the non-usage of mobiles phones or television, never bothered her as she thoroughly enjoyed the environment of walking about in sarees and being traditional. Her experience as a student of Kalakshetra has been truly memorable, leaving her with a wish to turn back time so that she could be a student there all over again.

Her most memorable performance would be when she performed along with her husband in Kalakshetra in 2009 as alumni. She was delighted to be called back to her to perform in front of all her former gurus and juniors.

Samradhya, their dance school, initially didn't have any name. They began by offering flexible dance classes to students who approached them, but with the passage of time, they decided to establish it properly, thanks to the grace of their well-wishers. It had been a slow process going in its flow. She enjoys teaching just as much as she enjoys dancing. Each being different with an essence of its own, it is hard to pick which she prefers better. Her family, being extremely supportive of her decisions, encouraged her to take up what she would enjoy.

Her upcoming show is a 2 month tour around North America and parts of Canada, accompanied by her husband and 7 other professional dancers showcasing their (Shijith Nambiar's and Parvathy Menon's) well known production - KRISHNA.  When asked about the response of their audience all over the world, she mentioned that each had a different attitude to the dance shows and that she enjoyed them all equally.

As far as she has observed in her students who came from abroad, she found them to be more determined and dedicated than the rest. Her comments for the next generation of dancers who would like take up dancing as their career was to 'just go for it', but did add to fix their priorities and be passionate and confident and most importantly to be hard working. The option of being in a different career path never crossed her. It has always been dance ever since she could remember. Parvathy Menon truly portrays Martha Grahams' quote 'Great dancers are great because of their passion’ 

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