FEAST OF INDIAN DANCE
Dance spectacular Meera is giving a Coast state school’s students a chance to dance alongside the production’s creators
CLOVER Hill State School students were given the rare opportunity to dance alongside the creators of Indian dance spectacular Meera last week.
The show’s artistic director Aarti Bajaj stopped by for a workshop on Indian classical dance with members of the school’s dance academy, inviting them to watch, listen and learn all about the art form.
She had a special message for the students in attendance, speaking straight from the heart about inspiration, passion and creativity.
“The reason why I really want to show them is so that they can believe; you know when you’re kids you believe everything that you’ve been taught or that you’ve learned,” she said.
“I really think while you’re learning, somewhere in the brain you need to stimulate creation, which means that whatever you’re learning, it’s good. You need to learn the technique.
“But you should also keep doing the creation in your head right from the beginning, so if I show them that with so many different genres, then hopefully they can find somewhere in themselves for creation and creativity.
“That’s what I believe, creating things, and dreaming beyond what people think of genre, what people think the boundary is, because you make the boundaries.”
They’re powerful words Ms Bajaj lives by, bringing her own creativity to the forefront with the creation of Meera, a mix of eight different dance styles including Indian classical and contemporary, tap, jazz and pole dancing.
Clover Hill students were treated to a first glimpse of the show’s trailer ahead of its release last weekend.
The workshop came about after a chance meeting between Ms Bajaj and school principal Gayle Alessio a few months ago.
Ms Alessio said she reached out to Meera on Facebook afterwards, hoping to give her school’s talented dance students the chance to go above and beyond.
“I want them coming to an understanding of the various social and cultural contexts of art forms, and that the arts provide evidence of the creative and cultural life of a community,” she said.
“It’s going to provide them with a real-life learning experience, so … it can provide them with more of an understanding of where the arts and the creative side can take them.”
Boasting a cast of 300,
Meera brings together dazzling costumes, enchanting music and a story Ms Bajaj says will tug at your heartstrings.
It was also announced understudy auditions for Meera will open on August 26, meaning an opportunity for particularly inspired students to step up and have their chance to be part of the production.
“We really hope with what we’re doing that we’ll be able to create more passion in young students, young kids, young generations to make them more passionate in their own lives,” she said.
Meera will play for one night only at HOTA in November.
THAT’S WHAT BELIEVE, CREATING THINGS, AND DREAMING BEYOND WHAT PEOPLE THINK OF GENRE AARTI BAJAJ