Arangetram
Arangetram means "rising to the stage," and technically stands as the debut performance of a Bharatanatyam dancer (even though he or she would’ve danced a million times). Basically, people see this is as the "dance graduation" after many years of learning the art. The moment a Bharatanatyam dancer finishes his or her arangetram, they earn a lifelong sense of achievement because of all the hard work they put in.
Prabha Pelluru (19 years old, The Ohio State University) says, "I was actually not planning to do mine because I had taken time off for Field Hockey, but a year before my dance teacher reached out and asked if I wanted to do mine. And in a split second, I said yes, and I really don't know why, but after the last song, I knew it was worth it because it was such a huge accomplishment—not only for me, but my teacher, parents, and friends who had seen me grow up with dance and the amount of time and energy. And basically giving up my senior year summer was all worth it. It was my first big accomplishment in life and there were absolutely no words to describe how happy and proud I was."
Imagine the feeling of pride and sense of accomplishment after your high school graduation, except take it and multiply it by 1,000 with a few more sprinkles of hard work, tons of mandatory exercise, and hours of practicing facial expressions while looking at a mirror. An arangetram takes years of planning and practicing to have the few hours on stage be as perfect as can be. That is why it causes so much happiness for a Bharatanatyam dancer and his or her surroundings after the completion of an arangetram.
Sneha Rajagopal (18 years old, The Ohio State University) says, "After completing my arangetram, I knew that all the hours of hard work and physical and mental exhaustion were worth it. It was such a great feeling to have reached my goal of performing in front of all my family and friends and completing what I had been working toward for a long time."
Appeal to Non-Desi’s
I have been a Bharatanatyam dancer for more than 14 years, and most of the performances I have given were in venues with very scarce amounts of non-Desi people (for obvious reasons). However, when the rare opportunity came across to perform in front of a non-Desi crowd, one thing was very evident: Non-Desi's happen to love Indian dancing! In fact, most of the praise I had gotten throughout my dance career came from people who were not Indian, which was extremely surprising to me. Non-Desi's are so fascinated by the costumes, jewelry, the storyline, and different movements from Bharatanatyam.To this day, I have a very special note given to me from an elderly woman who saw my performance. It said, "My darling, your dancing was spectacular, and you will always have a special place in my heart after today. Never stop pursuing the arts. Thank you."
I have always used the note to remind me of how much Bharatanatyam can be appealing to someone, and not only does it entertain, but also has a special place in an audience's heart.
Friends
Even today, I look back at all the amazing friends I’ve made in my Bharatanatyam classes, who I’ve established life-long bonds with. I mean, who else is gonna know your experience better than the person who danced right next to you and endured through many hours of aramandi with? (Aramandi is the basic form in Bharatanatyam where you keep your back straight and sit with your legs in a diamond shape.)
Apart from even just friends made in class, in the future there will always be people to bond with because of learning Bharatanatyam from before. Today, I am a dancer on the Ohio State University's premier Bollywood-fusion dance team, OSU Nashaa. On the team, I have made so many close friends who also learned Bharatanatyam, and whenever a segment of Bharanatyam is choreographed for the team's routine, I always know who to look at.
Gurus (Teachers)
They praise us. They yell at us. They make us the dancer we stand as today with an amount of patience that no one could ever have but them. Gurus end up becoming another parent for a Bharatanatyam dancer because of how much time we spend with them since we were kids until we become adults. They know what we like, what we hate, our strengths, our weaknesses, and much more. And beyond the dancing aspects, they teach us important life lessons that no one else can.
Killer Figure
Hours and hours of backs straight and holding perfect form can really have us looking fine. I mean, just look at Deepika Padukone! In school, she learned Bharatanatyam and look at her now—she's one of the biggest Bollywood actresses in the industry today!
