FINDING FREEDOM THROUGH MY ART

FREEDOM IS A CONCEPT THAT IS SIMPLE AND COMPLEX AT THE SAME TIME. SOMETIMES, HOWEVER, PEOPLE CAN EMBODY THIS CONCEPT IN A FAR MORE EXPLICIT WAY THAN THE MOST DETAILED DESCRIPTION. RŌMAL LĀISRAM CHATS UP WITH DANSEUSE AND ACTOR, RUKMINI VIJAYAKUMAR, TO UNRAVEL HER JOURNEY TO FREEDOM THROUGH HER ART…

- RŌMAL LĀISRAM

DANCE AND YOU HAVE A LONG STORY TOGETHER WHEN DID THIS JOURNEY START?

I started dancing when I was five or six years old. My mother used to dance as a hobby. I used to watch her go to dance classes and I was very enamoured by the whole thing. I remember wanting to be a part of this whole experience. My first memory of dancing is when I was five years old and I was cast to play the role of Dhruva in a dance ballet composed by Padmini Rao. I still remember, I wore blue. I was on stage for less than a minute. That was the beginning and then I started learning Bharatanatiyam under Padmini Rao as my guru. I then also studied under Guru Narmada Rao and Guru Sundari Santhanam.

FROM BHARATANATIYAM TO CONTEMPORARY – WHAT LED TO THIS NEW INTEREST?