I have always believed that a dancer is the luckiest person, not only because they are creative and can make all their imaginations come alive through their dance moves but because whenever they travel they make friends very easily and the relationship that develops is only because of the medium of dance that gets them to bond with other people.
I had mentioned before in my article that I was invited to perform at the Seattle India dance festival in USA recently, on this trip of mine to Seattle and the three weeks I spent in the magnificently beautiful city my assistants Supirya Shah, Manasi Desai along with me met a very interesting person. Someone who connected with us because of the love for dance, and not just any dance, her love was for Bollywood dancing.
I was introduced to her as one of the dancers who would be performing for me in my dance segments, my dance piece had total 22 performers and she was one of them, but the first thing that caught my attention was her name ‘Katrina Ji.’ Well first I thought that she has named herself after Katrina Kaif, but when Ihad more interaction with her,I realised that it was a coincidence that she and Bollywood super star Katrina Kaif shared the same surname. So my next question was why ‘Ji’? That too I realised was her real surname just that now Katrina Kaif has become a star. On the other hand, Katrina Jihas been in the dance scene long before Katrina Kaif made a foray into Bollywood.
Katrina Ji started dancing since the age of four and by now she has a wealth of dance experience. She is a Certified ATS Belly Dance Instructor by CarolenaNericcio of FCBD, she is also certified in Entry Level Flamenco by the Spanish Dance Society. Her childhood dance foundation has been in ballet, tap and acrobatics. But what she loves the most is Bollywood dance and Bhangra.
Thought Katrina cannot speak Hindi but she watches every Bollywood film and loves Rani Mukherjee. Her love for Bollywood dance has got her to India many a times and she has trained under many experts from the film world. I was surprised to visit her dance studio in Seattle by the name ‘Culture Shakti dance company’ without being an Indian or a Hindu she has the word ‘Shakti’ used in her company, as she believes that ‘the power’ ‘the shakti’ of love of dance has helped her set her dance school and performance company.
Her entire studio has a very Rajasthani feel, with puppets , the famous katputli every where, the main door welcomes the guest with a toran, and symbol of ‘Om’ along with a diya kept near the music system so that prayer can be performed before the class begins. Being a person who is born and brought up in Seattle in USA, she seems more Indian to me compared to most Indians living in India.
Katrina has been teaching ATS Belly Dance since 2001. In 2007, she was amongst the first group of teachers to become certified Sister Studio ATS Belly Dance Instructors by CarolenaNericcio of FatChanceBellyDance. In 2010 she began Bollywood dance classes in Seattleand post that her institute has been nominated as the Best in Western Washington by King 5 / Evening Magazine, which makes me feel proud that she is taking so much interest in promoting our films and dances in another far away land.
Each year Katrina travels to Rajasthan along with her students and visits remote places of the colourful state of India learning Rajasthani folk dances from locals. She has special love for kalbelia dance as well as Tera Tali and often invites local kalbelia dancers to USA to perform along with her team. Infact recently she along with dancers from India took part in USA Dance championship and was highly appreciated for her efforts.
What I liked the most about Katrina Ji and her Culture Shakti dance school is that at her dance class where she teaches, Bollywood, Rajasthani folk and belly dance she has many schemes to promote Indian culture. There are times where students have won a trip to Vienna, India and Austria along with Kartina and her troupe. She leaves no stone unturned for people to come to class so that she can spread the India culture into their lives.
People like Katrina Ji are rare gems, who willingly adopt another culture and everything about the country and place only because they love it from the bottom of their heart. The love for India and Indian culture is so clear in Katrina Ji’s lifestyle that it is touching. Only regret she has is that she is trying her best to learn Hindi language but she is not very good with learning foreign languages. Therefore she has been unable to speak in the right accent and the correct manner.
When I meet dancers like Kartina Ji, I sometimes wonder how pure their souls must be to be accepting and changing oneself completely to fit into a new culture. My heart is all for Katrina and her love affair that she is having with Bollywood music and dance moves. She is superbly dynamic, graceful, and passionate about her art. I hope and pray that she keeps the hard work going and promotes Indian film culture even more in other places in USA. At the same time, I also wish to thank Katrina for loving India and Indian films and calling us her own.
(SandipSoparrkar is a well known Ballroom dancer and a Bollywood choreographer who has been honoured with National Achievement and National Excellence Award by the Govt of India. He can be contacted on sandipsoparrkar06@gmail.com.)
SandipSoparrkar
Artscape
