Engulfing the Body, Mind and Soul Anonymous

When I used to fall asleep as a toddler, my mother would put on old Punjabi songs. Apparently, I always woke up doing bhangra. That’s where it all started, my passion for all things dance. My first stage performance came when I was seven. I attended Shiamak Davar’s Winter and Summer Funk programs, got selected for Shiamak Davar’s Institute for the Performing Arts, and traveled with them to Pune to perform for the inauguration ceremony of the Sahara Pune Warriors (an IPL team). But I always craved an opportunity to truly showcase my talent in a show choreographed and orchestrated by myself.

That opportunity presented itself to me this year when, as the seniors in school, we had to organize our annual school fest, VIVUM. I was appointed as the HOD of the Dance Department, and had only three weeks to choreograph around eleven dances, teach those dances to the dancers, arrange for costumes, and coordinate with the tech department for our light and stage requirements. Yet I never felt tired. Every passing day filled me with more anticipation than apprehension about the approaching performances. We performed brilliantly at both ceremonies, but there was an incident when the music department forgot their cue and didn’t stop the song....