A Dance Odyssey with Swara Patel

[00:00:00] Before we begin, I wanted to give a huge shout out to Amazon Music for partnering with me on this episode of Chasing Creativity.

[00:00:07] But more on this later. Let's get right into today's episode.

[00:00:23] Hello and welcome to the latest what this I meant to do. And it was a clear understanding, this was my calling. But, and then I started, so I started training after the birth of my second child. I had no previous training before that. Really? Yeah. So my first ever dance class was when I was 28 and a half.

[00:01:42] And they say you can't learn dance.

[00:01:44] Exactly, exactly. So it's not true.

[00:01:46] It's not true.

[00:01:47] It's not. I would not say I was a great dancer or always noticed, but definitely a little better dancer. And I grew up with lots of love for dance, but sometimes, you know, as they say, you find your calling when you have to, right? So I was not a great student. And growing up, those times,

[00:03:01] the awareness of, you know, you can study comes'm a typical, I would shoot girl who did studies, not to be in corporate, but just to study. I would not lie about that. Okay. So I never entered the corporate world, but I had a good degree. I had, I come from a family

[00:04:23] which is full of entrepreneurs. So every, trying to be fitting that class.

[00:05:40] But I'm sure because you came in with more life experience,

[00:06:44] would I be able to do really well in dance? And exactly what you said, I found my differentiator.

[00:06:50] When I started looking for dance classes for my children,

[00:06:53] I really could not find one good man.

[00:06:56] When I say not a good man means,

[00:06:57] what I mean by this is a lot of even big names

[00:07:00] know what to teach.

[00:07:03] But when it comes to how to teach,

[00:07:05] especially with children, it's a different study by itself.

[00:08:09] when you do a performance and it requires certain delivery of an emotion or a story, depending on that. Okay. If someone wants to become a dancer at this point, and I wouldn't, maybe say a young girl or a young woman,

[00:08:22] what are the things you would like them to say something to the parents who see this in their children a spark for such careers. They would say that give your 10, give your 12, and then you do this.

[00:09:46] They have missed that peak. example of starting late and still doing pretty well in a career which is meant for young people. So just start. Just start. So don't think a lot. You know, they don't start and they really want to do it but they don't end up doing. Just start and start training. At least for two years you'll

[00:11:01] find your way. Swara, tell me about how your first five years of life is happening a lot because what is about teaching, it's about knowing a child. Okay. I tell my teacher, you know, there's a KYC and I... Know your child. Yeah, it starts there. That's what it starts, the child is there in the school for years and years and years and years. So it's very much possible. So much possible, but the intention of knowing has to be there. But also, I think with teachers changing every grade, class teachers, then that becomes a little difficult.

[00:15:00] Then they have, they had, so nowadays in schools,

[00:15:04] you hand over the child's notes,

[00:15:06] just like how this child was like, That was a time at least two, two, two and a half hour a day of self-work, the body, strength, flexibility, of course the dancing technique. Okay. And apart from that, did you also have to do some fitness routines to keep yourself limber or was dancing? Absolutely. Absolutely. So when you really train as a dancer,

[00:16:20] it's really funny, but in a dance class of one and a half hour, one hour, you'll be only exercising.

[00:17:24] Until 15 there has to be a clear age bifurcation after 15 they can be together

[00:17:25] Okay so first thing when you create that and

[00:17:27] Then if you know how to set the choreography right for the level your job becomes very easy

[00:17:33] You'll be able to accommodate everybody just like a school

[00:17:36] Yeah

[00:17:36] You know the syllabus is set keeping the average

[00:17:38] Child in mind and then when the child is really good you push them and give them little different move in the same choreography

[00:17:44] And you know give them a center or give them fitness classes. What is the one thing that you feel adults should learn from children when it comes to dance? So, you know, when a lot of them, they decide to come to class, they take at

[00:19:00] least 10 follow-ups from my side to come to class.

[00:19:03] Really?

[00:19:03] They really want to come.

[00:19:04] They really want to join.

[00:20:02] do that she has not done yet in the space of dance? So just giving a little bit, as I said, I could not study well.

[00:20:08] And you asked me about MBA.

[00:20:12] I have discovered myself completely through dance.

[00:20:16] So what I am today is because of dance.

[00:20:18] People who met me before I started dancing

[00:20:20] will not believe this what I am today.

[00:20:23] So it's the journey of self-discovery,

[00:20:25] journey of my strength, journey food, remember? So, after a tiring, long day of hunt, end of the day, again, day of jumping. Yeah? There has to be something about it, right? It was a stress reliever. It's like a refresh button. All the art form is like a refresh button.

[00:21:40] We are doing so much in life, you need that refresh button.

[00:21:43] Okay. of the culture, everyday culture. They just bring out the little drums and start dancing. So do we need to bring that sort of everyday dance culture back into our lives? Absolutely. I mean, we, I think traditionally we do have dances. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We do have. But somehow it's gone away. It's gone away. It's gone away. And that's the reason we are resorting to other sort

[00:23:02] of joy, which is not good for us. We have all this drawing or painting or dancing and