GAZELLE MAGAZINE WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH EDITION | Page 79

COMMUNITY & CULTURE
artistic director. Whether on stage or in a class, one of her favorite
styles to teach and to perform is bharatanatyam, a classical dance
dating back more than 2,000 years.
“It’s close to yoga, and involves many yoga poses,” she explained. “A
good Indian classical dance will have something for the dancer to do
from head to toe. The hallmark of this dance is its range of expression
and hand movements - it was developed as a vehicle for storytelling.”
Premachandra said that mastery of movement and expression
develops over time.
“In my experience, it’s very difficult to teach the range of emotions
for someone who is young - their emotional capacities are limited,”
she said. “So many of the things we learn in life we learn with time.
We become more mature, we have variations of anger, and we can
connect with jealousy, cynicism, fear.
“You need spirituality and the ability to get in touch with emotions
- combined with the movements of the hands, eyes, face - to get to a
particular level. It takes time to do that range. Many dancers don’t
peak until their 40s or 50s.”
But Premachandra is convinced - just as she was at 5 years old - that
she’s always had the essence of the art with her.
“It has been a part of me,” she said. “Even now, I dance every day.”
SAVVY I SOPHISTICATED I SASSY
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