Building Artistic Connections As A Freelance Dancer

Since I became a freelance dancer in 2010, I have build deep connections with dancers, dance studio owners, and dance teachers. It has been less of a work-related journey and more about being friends with hard-working artists from almost every state of India. It is surprising because I am not a very social person. I cherish all my dancer and artist friends for inspiring me with their work, filling my mind with the tumultuous energy of artistic confusion.

CLASSICAL BALLET DANCERS

Classical ballet has played an important role in my dance journey. As a freelancer, I was scared to loose athleticism and beautiful lines of my body. I thought the best way to maintain physical fitness would be to join ballet classes. I wanted to keep exploring new movements to maintain the tool of my expression – my dance body. I have always regarded ballet exercises as the best for any dancer’s body. Ballet exercises have – control, balance, flexibility, grace. Ballet is good for the overall conditioning of the body.

The most important thing ballet teaches is the discipline of mind and body. And this is exactly how all my ballet friends are! I have not found my ballet friends making dance videos on popular songs. And yet whenever they perform on stage, all their hard work of many months and years of practice is visible. Practicing ballet exercises daily, in a dance studio or at home, keeps me humble and realistic about my dance goals.

CONTEMPORARY DANCERS

As one of my dance friends said on her FB status – “There’s no such thing as a contemporary dance.” And I was shocked because, with the advent of so many dance reality shows, it seems that the world is trying to count how many different types of dance forms a person can come up with! Contemporary means ‘now’, ‘the present moment. As a freelance dancer, one has to keep the heart and mind open and vulnerable enough to let things affect us. Artists are like sponges that are constantly observing and absorbing things. So whatever we are at present and whatever we create – becomes ‘the present’ or contemporary.

Observing – Extracting – Producing – is how I see the process of contemporary choreography. That’s how contemporary dance has helped me see the world and made me a better artist. Whenever I meet my friends who love contemporary dance, I am inspired by how they try to explore life through dance. I love questioning things because asking questions leads to creative answers. There might be a search for an answer but the satisfaction of any contemporary dance piece is from the process/journey.

STREET DANCERS

I don’t know much about street dance. All my street dance friends are casual, fun, and hopeless romantics. Street dancers are known to break the “rules.” Street dancers are tough – inside-out. Street dancers are fun people. Whenever I am dancing with them, I feel free from all the defined rules of the world and just let go of my body. Street dancers are the least pretentious people in the world. They smile wholeheartedly, hug generously, love without the fear of their hearts getting broken, and are okay with me being me. My street dance friends have taught me to be okay with being imperfect. Not every circle has to be complete. Sometimes it’s okay to let the lines blur and enjoy the confusion of life.

FOLK DANCERS

Folk dance has a heritage and ancestry to carry on their dance feet. Folk dancers have simple ways of dancing and living. For them, simplicity is precious. Folk dancers believe in growing among a community. They respect nature in all its vulnerable and powerful form and therefore, always come forward to help those in need. Whenever I have met dancers who are folk dancers, I always feel like they don’t care how fast or materialistic this world has become. They find happiess in simplicity. They respect their art form with a sense of possessiveness. All the folk dancers I know come from a very humble family background. They are okay with not being trendy, as long as they are dancing, travelling, living together in harmony with the community.

SALSA DANCERS

I love learning and teaching salsa because it is such an adult life! Salsa dancers are sensual and sexy. And being sexy is an experience. As a dancer, it’s very important to explore your feminity unashamedly. Being sexy is strong; being sexy is shedding all your fake societal inhibitions. Whenever I meet salsa dancers, they encourage me to do my best in every dance style. Salsa dancers teach to – never push or intimidate but always give space to your partner and everyone else around you.

When I was learning dance, I observed a difference between the way salsa dancers practiced partner work and the way dancers of other dance forms do. Salsa dancers understand the importance of giving appropriate space to each other. Salsa dancers know to respect each others’ boundaries very well. You only get respect if you respect others. Dancing together needs synchronization and maturity to understand each other. Leading and following is not a game of who is a winner or who is better. It’s about moving together in harmony with the music, step by step together, and discovering the ups and downs of life. Working hard is good, but pushing too much only breaks things. Harmony lies in listening to the music and letting dance happen, just like love.

There is still a lot to learn about dance and dancers. As I build more connections with dancers of different dance styles, I become humble in accepting different cultures. It feels like I have travelled the whole world, and still there are many shores to explore.