Mysuru: Mysuru is shedding its conservative image. Kids and homemakers are swinging to a new beat – Salsa, belly dancing and bollywood. This is a far cry from craze for Bharatanatyam and Kathak. Summer dance classes in these modern forms of dance are the rage in once conservative city. Reality shows on TV have fueled the craze. Professional trainers are being roped in from outside the city to train people in these forms of dance. Beyond Taalas, a dance academy, has roped in Meher Malik, an internationally known belly dancer, and Bollywood choreographer Deepak Singh.
ML Pushpalatha, 47, says she’d never tried dancing during her student life, and started just three years ago. “I just wanted to get rid of stage fear and my inhibitions. I am learning belly dance, which is also a good form of exercise,” she says.
Ritika Guptam, a BBM graduate, practicing advanced level belly dancing enhances beauty and is also a great way to keep the body fit. “I’m learning this dance form for the past four year, and it makes a woman feel beautiful,” she says. “I learnt hip-hop, contemporary and Latin style of dance and am learning belly dance to experience it and master different forms of dance,” says Thulasi Kushalappa.
Another dance academy The Next Step Cynthia’s Dance Studio, too, roped in Payal Gupta, who represented India five times, to train belly dance enthusiasts. Over the past few years, the institute has trained more than 100 dancers, said director Cynthia Charles Archer. Apart from these forms, shadow act, UV act, carnival act, Latin American, trio act and aqua zumba are also grabbing the attention of Mysureans.
