Genderless’

dance seems headlined by women, it feels great to be a part of such an initiative,” enthuses the dancer who moved to India four years ago.

From short little trips to inculcate the quintessential nuances of Indian classical art forms, to falling in love with a country, enough to permanently settle here – Thomas’ last 10 years were mostly made up of trying to establish the need for a passion, more than acclaim.

“From what I have observed, at my level, there is a standardisation of the dance forms because of popular dance schools and institutions which require that every student learn the same thing the same way,” he relays. When not moving the audience with his graceful postures, Thomas likes to invest his time teaching French. He also has a penchant for textiles and jewellery. “If dance wasn’t on the cards, I would travel the world selecting the finest textiles for fashion designers around the globe. I also like the idea of having my own art café where I could promote artists and host exhibition and dance programs,” he adds.

Indian classical dance might seem like an all-woman’s world to the layman’s eyes, but Thomas opines that it is time for a shift in this attitude. He signs off saying, “People think it is hard for a male dancer to perform since most of the songs are female oriented, but dance is just about abhinaya. Dance is genderless.”