Pradnya Vijayan On Being An Aprit 2020 Performer

– Pradnya Vijayan, Kathak performer, student at RSCA and Core Team member of ARPIT 2020

Unlocking the hidden possibilities during lockdown

I’m reminded of this anecdote time and again. Every time I attended birthday parties as a child, my mother would receive calls from parents telling her how happily they enjoyed watching me dance. Funnily enough, being completely unaware of my inclination towards dance, that’s how I discovered that I’m absolutely passionate about being a kathak performer! Dancing was an art that came very naturally to me.

Reciting bandishes whilst doing household chores and dancing them in between conversations, such is my bonding towards the art of Kathak. After the lockdown got imposed, it looked almost impossible to dance in front of the mirror along side Rujuta tai and my class mates. But, with the online learning platform; the doors to learning virtually were open! With so much time in hand, riyaz became a daily routine. Sending assignments weekly, helped me in correcting my postures and movements. Sundays continued to excite me about attending class and the fact that our Annual Show was to take place this year too had me on cloud 9!

Being in the core team for the very first time for Arpit this year is truly a changing point in my career. None of us had ever foreseen the work that went behind making something this huge ‘digitally’ available. The shift of working, making calls and coordinating sitting at home is a challenge in itself. But with so many hands working together in unison, and the positive vibe from Tai and other team members, putting up a show digitally still looked achievable. Not only us at RSCA, the students and families have gotten their feet wet too, in making this possible in every small way.

Vincent Van Gogh rightly said, “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”

Turning their homes into studios, shooting and reshooting videos, lighting and sound, managing costume and makeup, you name it.
It’s only this year, that the digital format has made it possible to bring all the branches of RSCA together under one roof!

And even after having such a close view behind the curtains, I’m excited and thrilled to see what Arpit-2020 is going to unfold!