TKP 013: Swarashri Shridhar

Swarashri Shridhar is the prime disciple of Guru Pali Chandra and has been learning Kathak for the last 10 years under Gurukul Studios. As the youngest distinction holder of the ISTD Vocational Advanced course from the UK, she has performed in London, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and UAE and believes in bringing about a change in society through dance. Her first project in doing so was raising awareness for Dance Movement Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease through a self-choreographed piece titled ‘Rise Again’. Taking this forward, she participated in a play called ‘Still Dancing’ which was based on Dance Movement Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease. Swarashri has made it a point to talk about Parkinson’s Disease and perform her piece on various platforms, thus raising awareness about this topic through dance.

Her most recent initiative - #spinpositivity was aimed at generating positivity and enthusiasm during these challenging times impacted by COVID-19. The initiative attracted dancers from the US to Australia echoing her #spinpositivity and posting short dances on Instagram Stories, thus creating a small movement. She donated the proceeds of her maiden online live performance titled ‘Rise Again’ through Playtoome, India’s first live online platform to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund in aid of COVID-19 relief efforts.

Links to social media https://www.instagram.com/swarashri_kathak/

Timestamps

0:01:03 Normalization of Dance as a Career 0:05:31 Alternative courses for dancers 0:07:35 Online Degrees/Courses 0:09:24 ISTD Vocational Course 0:11:48 Unique aspects and future changes in Training 0:16:05 Pali Ji's Parampara Workshop 0:18:06 Making a living as an average dancer 0:21:21 Other Careers in Kathak 0:26:45 Mindset of a Kathakar 0:29:50 FOMO 0:32:42 Gurubehens 0:35:29 Induviduality in Gurukul Training 0:38:30 Raising Dance in Social and Medical Issues 0:40:34 Dance Movement Therapy 0:45:29 Carnatic Music in Kathak 0:50:01 Use of Carnatic Music in Kathak 0:51:51 Explorations in Carnatic Music 0:53:15 Spinpositivity 0:57:50 How does it feel to be known? 1:00:44 Feedback 1:03:49 Feedback that dancers should be wary of 1:06:28 Current and Future Projects