Bollywood choreographer Shakti Mohan is searching for talent in Odisha. That’s why the famed dancer has come to Bhubaneswar. Yes, you heard it right. If you are madly passionate about dance, you have a golden opportunity to learn from her.
The Odisha unit of Beti Bachao Beti Badhao is organising a dance programme ‘Ghungru’ wherein Shakti Mohan will grace the programme as chief guest. She will train the winners of the talent hunt programme who will have once-in-a-lifetime chance to fly to Mumbai and learn dance from the TV personality.
Shakti came to limelight after appearing as a contestant in Dance India Dance and later won the show. She was also seen as a mentor in the reality show Dance Plus.
Shakti managed to carve a niche for herself in Tinseltown by giving top-notch choreography in movies like Dhoom 3, Padmavat and Shamshera.
In tete-a-tete with OTV, Shakti expressed her willingness to learn Odissi dance.
On visiting Odisha, the dancing diva said, “Last time, I had come to Bhubaneswar to attend finale of Dance Odisha Dance. This time, I have come to Bhubaneswar for a different cause. I really love to be in Bhubaneswar because it’s a nice place and so are its people. Besides, I really admire the rich art and culture of Odisha. So I am feeling very nice being here.”
She said,“I would like to support genuine talents. I will provide scholarship so that they will prosper as dancers. I believe Odisha is a powerhouse of incredible talents. They need support and that’s why I am here. I will select dancers on basis of their eagerness and potentiality”, maintained Shakti.
Upon being asked whether dancers are god-gifted, she said, “All are born with some rhythms. But some people enjoy it. It is up to you how you want to use it in lifetime.”
However, she is against the parents who are pressurizing children to dance. She said, “Be it dance or any other career options, parents should not be too stubborn in pushing their wards pursue their career. But rather, let the children decide their career on their own.”
Before signing off, the choreographer expressed her desire to learn Odissi. She said, “Odisha is a magical land. I would like to explore it. Odisha is like Disneyland for me. Odissi is a beautiful dance form. I had a desire to learn Odissi dance from my childhood. I would love to learn Odissi. As Odissi teachers were not easily available in north, I opted for Bharatanatyam. Given opportunity, I would love to work with Odissi crew.”
Reported by: Niranjan Reddy (Bhubaneswar)