By Stephanie Grinnell
Staff Writer
Strains of Indian music streamed from the auditorium at Scarborough High School this week as students practiced for Saturday’s “Expressive Rhythms” performance of bharathantyam, a type of traditional Indian dancing.
Bharathantyam is more than 3,000 years old, among the oldest forms of dance in India. An interpretation of the name combines Indian words meaning expression, music, rhythm and dance. It was originally performed by devadasis, or servants of God, but has evolved into a more traditional dance connecting people to past traditions while still linking dance with religion, according to information provided by Indhra Rajashekar of Scarborough.
Students ranging in age from 4 to 11 are learning bharathantyam by Rajashekar, founder of the Eastern Cultural Heritage Exchange, or ECHO, a nonprofit group established to bring eastern culture to southern Maine. Rajashekar said ECHO has another meaning aside from being an abbreviation of the organization’s name.
“We are not doing anything new. I want to make sure the voices of the past continue on,” she said. “That is the echo of the past.”
For now, students are learning bharathantyam, but Rajashekar said she hopes to incorporate music and instruments into her teachings in the future. She said the dance requires discipline as well as a mind-body connection and said some children become more focused and increase their concentration using the principles of bharathantyam.
“It is physically demanding and involves a lot of expression,” she said. “It is very spiritually based with a message conveyed in every song. The audience takes home a message.”
Rajashekar began learning the traditional dance when she was 6 years old, and she began teaching her daughters, Rangapriya, 16 and Harinni, 10, at the same age. She said the dance takes years to learn adequately but said Rangapriya is nearing the graduation ceremony that marks her mastery of bharathantyam.
Classes take place at Stages Academy on Route 1 in Scarborough, where Rajashekar regularly invites guest teachers from India to help instruct the students, including Renjith Choorakkad, who will perform yoga and kalari, an Indian martial art, during Saturday’s performance.
“So this way people in Maine will get familiar with these art forms,” she said, adding she plans to host additional performances during the coming year. “I want more people to know, so kids growing up here will have an idea what’s going on on the other side.”
Rajashekar taught Indian dancing for 15 years in New York City before moving to Maine.
“But I could not stop doing what I’m doing,” she said, adding there are no other bharathantyam teachers in southern Maine.
Nalini Dasana of Scarborough said she used to drive her daughter, Ragasri, to New Hampshire every Sunday for lessons until she met Rajashekar. She said 5-year-old Ragasri loves dancing and music.
“It’s considered very high esteem in our culture [to learn bharathantyam],” she said.
Dasana said she does not have to remind Ragasri to practice because her daughter enjoys it so much. Ragasri said she likes dancing and said it is easy to learn, while nodding her head vigorously when asked if she was excited about performing in front of an audience.
Scarborough resident Sudha Chaganti said next year she plans to enroll her 3-year-old daughter in the classes currently attended by her 4-year-old daughter, Harshini, who joined the class because she likes to dance.
There are currently eight children enrolled in bharathantyam classes with Rajashekar. She said she plans to offer adult classes in the future if there is an interest. To educate the public about bharathantyam, Rajashekar is hosting a performance at 6 p.m. on June 21 at Scarborough High School. Admission to the performance is free. For more information, contact Rajashekar by emailing emailindhra@yahoo.com.