Interview with Nandini Ghosal, by Pooja Garg
Bharat, an Indian student group at the University of Minnesota, hosted an evening with Nandini Ghosal, a world renowned Orissa dancer and actress, in November. Bharat’s goal is foster awereness about India and enhance the understanding of India’s culture and way of life to students at the University of Minnesota.
Here are excerpts from an interview with Nandini Ghosal:
PG: What is the difference between Odissi classical dance and Kathak?
NG: Kathak is the classical dance of North/ West India and Odissi is the from the state of Orissa. The primary posture in Kathak is where you don’t bend your legs but Odissi is dances with bent legs most of the time, The Chok and the Tribhangi being the main postures of dance is Odissi.
PG: You originally studied Kathak and Bharatnatyam and than you fully shifted to Odissi dance. What is the reason for such a drastic shift?
NG: I started learning Kathak when I was about five years old and I played no role in choosing the dance I would learn since I didn’t know one from another. My mother put me in a Kathak class so I learned Kathak, but when I was ld enough to decide what I wanted to dance, I decided to learn Odissi It took me a year in a half to find the teacher I wanted to learn from and I found out that Odissi dance was sculpturesque, graceful and suited me physically.
PG: What influenced you to fully focus on a dance career rather than films?
NG: Whenever I have to act in feature films, it means that I have to sacrifice some time from my dance profession, but when I get a feature film which is worth the sacrifice, I’ll definitely do it. If I ever have to chose between dance and acting, though, it would definitely be dance.
PG: Can you please tell me more about your work in the film industry, such as what films you have worked in and what types of roles you played or were they just?
NG: None of the roles I played were “dance in films.” I have had the privilege of acting in feature films which have found a place in the International Film Festival of India. I have performed in central role in the following films: Char Adhyay in Hindi by Kumar Shahani (Indian Panorama, International film festival of India, 1998), Kicchu Sanlap in Bengali by Ashoke Vishwanathan (National Award and Indian Panorama 1999), Akeli in Hindi directed by Vinod Pandey Anya Swapna.
PG: How does it feel when you represent India on difference dance platforms around the world?
NG: It feels great, but it also feels like I have a great responsibility of representing my country correctly.
PG: What is the hardest thing to teach students of dance?
NG: The hardest thing to teach is that all beautiful danceand the adoration that one gets from the audience comes after a very long and arduous journey. Nothing is instant and there is no short- cut to it other than hard work.
Pooja Garg is a senior at the University of Minnesota. She is majoring in Business and Marketing Education. In addition, she is the Minnesota correspondent for the national newspaper, The India Post.
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