An earlier batch at The Lewis Foundation of Classical Ballet.
Pic credit: Meghana Sastry
Dance schools in Bengaluru are seeing an increase in enrolment of children and teenagers. Parents are signing up children as young as three to improve their motor skills while high-schoolers are pursuing dance as a creative outlet.
Dance institutes let Metrolife in on the trend. It was International Dance Day on April 29.
For grooming
The Richard David Tholloor Dance Project has a branch in Indiranagar and Kothanur each. It saw over a 30% hike in sign-ups by children aged 3.5 years and above between 2022 and 2023 and a similar increase from 2023 until now.
“Parents feel that dance can help their wards with grooming, like improving their body language,” says Richard David Tholloor, the school’s founder.
They teach hip hop to children in the 3.5 to 5.5 age group. “It helps improve their coordination skills and flexibility. We even use cartoon songs to make the classes fun,” he shares. The group between 5.5 and 8 years is taught how to dance to the rhythm. All the children get to perform at the school’s summer dance showcase and also its annual event.
Inspired by movies
At The Lewis Foundation of Classical Ballet, Avenue Road, ballet classes are open to children from the age of 4. “Disney movies are a big reason for a boom in enquiries for children in the age group between 4 and 12. The novelty attracts them,” says its arts co-ordinator Dyumna Chhabra.
She adds, “Children see ballet videos online and want to emulate it. And parents are increasingly understanding that dance can help their children mentally, physically and emotionally.”
For students in pre-primary and primary grades at the school, the focus is on teaching proprioceptive or kinesthetic awareness. “The classes are designed to teach them balance and spatial awareness. It helps on stage and even in the outside world,” she says.
Unconventional teaching
Matangi Nrithyakshetra has seen a 15% rise in children’s admission since last year. It has a centre in Mahalakshmi Layout and HSR Layout each. This Bharatanatyam school is open to children between 5 and 15 years of age. “Dance is meditative. It is a good exercise for the body and it boosts happy hormones”, its founder Matangi Prasan says, commenting on the uptick of young students. She follows an unconventional way of teaching. She says, “I take inspiration from children’s books to create dance productions and involve my students right from the conceptualisation stage. I once referred to stories from the ‘Panchatantra’.” Her latest work, ‘Swargada Shaale’, was about eight-year-old Saraswati, Shiva and other gods and goddesses going to a fictitious school. “Most compositions for Bharatanatyam are based on spiritual or romantic concepts. These don’t work well for children,” she reasons.
Even Kathaakar, with branches in Banashankari and Bellandur, is trying new approaches. Its founder and director Pooja Bhatt says, “Classical dance doesn’t come with catchy songs. To keep children interested, we add storytelling elements to our classes. We also connect lessons on ‘hasta mudra’ (hand gestures) with examples from our daily lives.”