Off-stage - Life of a Dancer

                             Colours that we see aren’t the colour they are. The struggles faced by them are covered up by the colours they wear. Stylish moves, funky clothes, vibrant shoes are the other name of the dancer’s today. When they walk down the streets, their appearance takes all the attention. They look cool and funky but than any other professional’s, dancers have some serious job to do. They rock the floor, entertain people to the fullest, and they create throb in many young dancers. People think that they don’t have any commitment towards their own life, and they are the persons with low society profile compared to any other professions. People think that dancers are hopeless and just one more Roadside Romeo.

                         People don’t accept dancers into their society or family. They see them like Martians on earth, but still don’t give them the right to live a normal life. They have style, look, passion, hard work and everything that a dancer need. Is that all they need? All that they have is the secondary need for a person to be a dancer, but what about the primary needs? Do they have all the basic things they deserve for all the hard work they put in? No, they do indeed need a life with a better status. No proper 3 meal-a-day , room that is shared by more than what the room can hold, sometimes they take the floors to sleep after their hard work routines, dancers pushed to ground, less opportunities, rivalry within them to reach the road of success, is how they live in a actual life.

                           Many dancers come from other town to achieve some heights and taste the flavour of success, were only few take that opportunity. Not everyone who has entered into dancing has attained heights than talent; people are to tag by well-known reference. Dancers who have real talent are still unrecognized as they don’t have influential background or powerful reference. The career chose by them, aren’t the career their parents want them to be in. Mr.Arun Kumar - a Professional Dancer and Choreographer is one such among them, who came from Pollachi to Chennai. The profession that he chose is not related to the degree that he holds, but still he has been strong in this field for past 5years. Though he hasn’t been in the recognizing list of dancers, his work has made a lot to talk about him. He had no knowledge when he entered this field, but to support his family he came all the way to Chennai. He learned to dance, he trained himself, achieved few heights, choreographed for many star events to normal college events. He says, “When I entered this field, my mom refused to tell my neighbours where I worked. She felt ashamed of my profession and told my neighbours that I worked in some IT company”. The struggle that he has faced is what a dancer faces in all his stages of growth to success. When asked about how and what he feels about dance, he said; “I don’t “dance” to make money I want to make “money” to dance”. The word ‘struggle’ has become a habit, so it never hurts me much. I can live without food, but not without dance”.

                             The ground is clean and many have taken the dancers to heights that they have never imagined. The time to showcase their talent has increased in the present, where many have come forward. But is media giving a hope to all dancers? Not every dancer get what they want, their talent is chased down by beast called “money”. One can’t teach someone to become a dancer; it’s their interest which makes them a prominent dancer. Only one percent of these dancers get success from media. But media is not looking for talented dancers they are looking for dancers with good look with less dancing technique. Than focusing on the talent that they have, media is keen on the emotional portion to cover up the audience towards them. Professional’s have to be judged by professional dancer and not by everyone. Many professional dancers have lost their hope, but still nothing changed their spirit they still step into their shoes to dance and make a world a better place for them. Though they suffer the pain they go through, they enjoy it and love to dance till the last beat of their life. It’s time for people to respect them and their efforts, where even dancing is a profession with more care than any other.

“ LEGEND MAY DIE; BUT DANCE WON’T ”