Episode Notes

My conversation with Sunena has some deep insights into how she intertwines her love of kathak with mental health awareness. You can find her at Website: https://sunenagupta.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunenagupta/

YouTube: http://youtube.com/sunenagupta

Bio Sunena Gupta is a senior disciple of Guru Mulla Afsar Khan at the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society. She has been training in kathak for over 15 years now. She received her diploma In 2016 and notably was the first student in Singapore to complete a Kathak Manch Pravesh (Arangetram).

Sunena is most well-known as the director of the ‘Umeed: Colors of Hope’ dance theatre production and ongoing mental health awareness campaign, which was launched in 2018 and has since delivered over 25 performances, workshops, and seminars across the globe.

Sunena now runs her own dance company, ‘SuRachna Dance Company‘ where she teaches beginner and intermediate children and adult classes.

Apart from being a dancer, Sunena works as a full-time Public Policy Analyst and is a mental health advocate. She is passionate about combining these aspects of her life with her dance career by encouraging other artists to use their platforms to convey social messages through traditional art, and continue to spread art as a form of mental wellbeing.

Show Highlights 0:03:23 Structure of performance 0:04:41 Pushback for advocacy 0:09:38 Impact of people's lives 0:12:44 Drawing Boundaries between advocacy and therapist 0:16:00 Getting Constructive Feed 0:19:10 Kathak Training in Singapore 0:22:33 Visharad 0:27:06 Long term plans 0:29:38 What Sunena wants to add to Teaching 0:30:57 Kathak style 0:32:25 Riyaaz and self care 0:35:57 Choreographer 0:37:35 Anectodes from performances 0:40:01 Partnering with Charities 0:44:06 Compensation 0:49:09 Message For Kathakars