By GEETHA BALLAL

 
Have you ever wondered how a dancer makes a movement look so beautiful? Has a question arisen in your mind – does it flow in her body or is she thinking about making it flow?
I definitely have thought about this a million times – every time I dance or watch someone else dance. Some of them are brilliant dancers who do not show the effort that goes behind inventing the movement but yet some others clearly define the adaption of movement into their body. (Heard this‘somehow she didn’t look comfortable doing those movements’ or ‘the movements weren’t sitting in her body’?)
Dance is not just about executing a movement in style but giving a bit of you into every movement. It is a consolidation of thoughts – the choreographers idea, the geometry of the movement itself, the aesthetics, the technique, the dancers own style and passion…
Martha Graham once said ‘dancers are not great because of their technique but their passion’ – the inherent strong desire to dance brings out a passion in the movement that makes it all the more beautiful. A movement without it becomes mere mechanics.
Having said this, a dancer doesn’t escape the mathematics of dance. Well, putting it in simple words, what we see as dance is a combination of mathematically proportionate and aesthetically appealing set of movements. Therefore, when executing even a simple movement, although we can cover and lace it with emotions, desires and passion, to make it complete, we still need to think of the arithmetical and geometrical aspect. Where the hand goes, what angle does it stay, how erect the body is, at what degree is the head tilted –if one calculation is overlooked, the movement may look awkward rather than beautiful.
My teacher was scoffing at class one day – ‘these days, children think that dance will come naturally and so they don’t have to put in effort or think about it’. I agree. How easy for society to typecast dancers to be unthinking movers who have taken an easy way out by choosing dance!!!
Wake up! Dancers do at least three times the thinking an average person at work will and puts in at least 5 times the physical effort. The term ‘research’ didn’t erupt one day just like that in a dancer’s dictionary. Every movement is well thought of, looked into, categorized, stylized, combined with similar sets and then made into a sequence.
Just to delve into a dancers mind, let’s see what goes on behind a simple transitory movement –say a plei.
Mathematically – the distance between the feet, the degree of turnout of the knees and toes, the shape formed through the sitting into the plie.
Aesthetically – whether the back is straight, tail-bone tucked in, sitting low enough.
Added to this, the direction which the plie is faced toward, the angle, the position with respect to other dancers and to the stage, the distance to be covered using this movement, what the hands are doing, what expression the face is communicating…
Well, if just a simple transitory movement or position has these many thoughts, one can imagine how many would go into an entire dance! What has one got to say about the memory of the dancer to remember not only the movements but the thoughts behind the movements too?
Cheers to all the dancers in the world to have chosen this most difficult profession and yet make it seem like it’s the easiest! Kudos to all the brave movers who have leapt beyond imagination reaching great depths and lengths of movement!

Concept and execution: Madhuri Upadhya
Choreography: Vishwa Kiran

Team Nritarutya thanks the tremendous effort of all the 50 dancers.

She won the Bronze Prize for India with Gold Prize going to Idit Herman [Israel] and Silver Prize to Martinus Miroto [Indonesia].The final presentation of the 5 finalists who were selected through the initial online screening [on 17th November] of 65 proposals from 30 different countries was held on 6th December.

Mayuri’s choreography plan was chosen to be one of the top five finalists.
Therefore, there was a presentation for the final evaluation by the Asian Dance Committee members in Seoul, Korea.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of South.Korea provided all expenses for 5 participating applicants.Team of16 panel judges, were also the expert members and co-chairpersons of the Asian Dance Committee. After the presentation, Q&A session and they declared the winners with a ceremony of awarding prize.

Calcium is one of the key nutrients that your body needs in order to stay strong and healthy. It is an essential building block for lifelong bone health in both men and women, among many other important functions. Because calcium has so many important jobs, it’s important to get enough of it in your diet.
Most of the calcium in the body is present in the bone but without some calcium in the blood you would be dead. So, under normal conditions, hormones carefully regulate blood levels of calcium even if you consume no calcium, the blood gets it from your bones, which is a major factor in the development of osteoporosis (thinning of bone tissue and loss of bone density over time).

Calcium helps your body with:
Building strong bones and teeth.
Clotting blood.
Sending and receiving nerve signals.
Squeezing and relaxing muscles.
Releasing hormones and other chemicals.
Keeping a normal heartbeat.

Your body gets the calcium through the foods you eat or the supplements you take.

Calcium in the diet

In a more absorbable form, milk and other dairy products are the easiest way to inject calcium into your diet. Vitamin D is needed to help the body absorb calcium. Yogurt, cheeses, and buttermilk contain a form of calcium that your body can absorb easily. Milk products are the only good source of calcium because other sources either don’t contain enough calcium or are poorly absorbed. The lactose in the milk (milk sugar) and vitamin D added to milk help absorption of calcium; however, this is a problem for people who are deficient in lactose, the enzyme that digests lactose. Such individuals are “lactose intolerant,” and have symptoms including cramping, bloating, gas, and diarrhea following the consumption of milk or milk products.
In any case, there is no getting around the fact that without milk products you will have very tough time getting adequate calcium by diet alone, so it is a good idea to supplement if you can’t drink milk.

Sources of calcium are listed below-

1. Milk products.
2. Salmon and Sardines, or any fish where you get some bones.
3. Legumes.
4. Green vegetables- asparagus, fresh green peas, broccoli, cabbage, okra (except Spinach).
5. Almonds and Sesame seeds.
6. Green tea.

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis, meaning “porous bone,” is the degeneration of normal bone mineral density, mass, and strength. This process results in thinner bones and increases their susceptibility to fracture. Bone density is of great importance to the dancer because it forms the crucial base of skeletal support. With decreased bone density, the dancer is subject to fractures, scoliosis and other skeletal problems.

“The potential for this disease begins in a person’s twenties and dancers are definitely in one of the highest risk categories primarily because of their light body and low caloric intake. In dancers’ favor is the fact that dance provides weight- bearing physical activity, which is an important defense against osteoporosis. However, poor dietary practices among dancers increases the risk for bone problems.
You are only a “bone builder” until your mid- thirties, after that you “borrow” calcium from your peak bone mass.
So, development of a high peak bone mass is very important in preventing the onset of osteoporosis. Once you have osteoporosis, there’s very little you can do about it, so it is essential that dancers build and maintain their bone ” bank accounts” in their teens, twenties, and early thirties.
Calcium is important in keeping- up bone density. As with any other nutrient, absorption is a pivotal factor. Two hormones regulate calcium absorption: parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcitonin is released when there are adequate levels of calcium in the blood, and allows calcium to stay in the bone to make minerals. Because of this hormonal control, dietary intake of calcium is of critical importance.”
Quoted from the book “Diet for dancers” by Robin D. Chmelar and Sally S. Fitt.

Even in the early years of their career, dancers must be aware of the calcium levels in their body and not neglect its importance. Osteoporosis will take its effect in the later part of your life, if enough calcium is not consumed and stored in your bones.

The subject contents are addressed through:

RnD

Gone are the days when Ramayan meant a 100-episode long serial by Ramanand Sagar with Arun Govil playing the quintessential Ram.
It’s high time this great epic got a contemporary twist.

This December, witness a contemporary adaptation of the age old legend of Lord Ram and the Demon Ravana… An ancient love story… A tale of war… showcased in a full-scale Broadway style theatrical. And guess what? Our very own choreographer/dancer Sathya BG has bagged the lead role of Rama in the epic saga.
This first-of-its-kind theatrical will be the most compelling, modern and entertaining avatar of Ramayana.

Watch the Exclusive Video promo of Ramayana – The Theatrical before the Legend comes Live on Stage.