SAGARIKA

I remember my start at Srishti Gurucool, when my parents enrolled me in the summer camp for arts and craft classes in 1999. I accidentally got admitted to the dance class at Srishti Gurucool. It was here that my journey started. There has been no looking back

Teacher:
It was with a lot of fun and laughter that dance was taught. My teacher was extremely tolerant and patient person, who never set any deadlines. She allowed all of us, her students to improve at their own pace. She would understand each one of us as individuals with different set of learning capabilities and interest in learning dance. She was very sweet and created an interest in dance for all of us. It was a deep chemistry we shared with her that got translated into the physics of dance.

Teacher’s family:
Our teacher’s family members treated each one of us as their family. All feel extremely at home with them. Apart from dance, we would have discussions on Hindu tradition and customs every day. My teacher’s mother always helps us all. She is very helpful during the dance performances as she supports us from the back stage.

My first Performance:
I remember my first performance as part of the group and the amount of fright I experienced on that occasion. She told me that the stage was mine and whatever I did there was only dance. Her confidence in me actually impelled me to overcome my stage fright and give a decent performance.

Experiences while taking class:
Whenever our teacher is on vacation, she allows her senior students (like me) to take classes on her behalf. I always thought it would be easy. But whenever I go there and sit down as her representative, the experience of taking classes for the junior students is really exhausting. It is an enormous responsibility to make the students to perform their moves correctly!!

Arangetram:
During the polishing time, my teacher put me through a tough regime. I had to go to class everyday and she would polish and tune my dance steps. After six months of honing and fine tuning, I could really see a change in my confidence. My dance postures and stamina really improved. A few months before the Arangetram, I had to undergo practice sessions with the orchestra team. In these practice sessions, I could see improvements. The entire orchestra team was very supportive of my dance practices with them.
On the day of the Arangetram, I was scared to see so many people. My first item Bharatanjali was not performed to the best of my ability. My teacher then told me that arangetram is just another practice session with some people in the audience eager to clap for my good performance. With her inspiring words, I completed my arangetram well. My arangetram was well received by the audience and I received several accolades during my performance!!