All five of the dancers have their own dreams and aspirations. While some want to build a strong foundation of ballet dance in Nepal others want to go abroad to pursue their passion further. But their will to do something different, their optimism about the future, and their love for dancing are what binds them together despite their differences.
Yulia Koirala, founder and director at Sushila Arts Academy, established this organization with the objective to promote arts in Nepal. “I took my daughter to a theater abroad when she was just a year old. She thoroughly enjoyed the performance and wanted to get on stage herself,” says Koirala. Looking at her daughter Koirala thought about many other Nepali children. Nepal has a lot of potential but children here are deprived of a platform to refine their skills. That was the moment when she pledged to open an art school in Nepal.
This academy runs under the umbrella of four different faculties – music, dance, art, and theater. They have a ballet school with a certified program and a specified curriculum. This school has regular exams and also provides scholarships to talented students. “Children are admitted to ballet school from the age of five.
Our school comprises of grade one, two, three and four, where students are promoted according to their performance” states Koirala. “We want to create a generation of Nepali students who are trained in a professional way. These students, we hope, will then take the dance forward to the coming generations,” adds Koirala stating that it is not easy to introduce a new art form in Nepal but she is determined to bring about a change.
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“Coming to Kathmandu was an exciting journey,” says Glory Thapa, who was one of the five ballet dancers we spoke to. All five of them were scholarship holders and had fervent love for ballet dancing. “I met Lucky Darlami at a dance competition and since then we have been best friends,” she adds referring to another ballet dancer at Sushila Arts Academy. After winning third prize at a dance competition Best Dancer Nepal, 2015 she was called to Kathmandu and given scholarship by Sushila Arts Academy. “I got my friend Lucky along with me as I was sure he was an equally capable dancer,” she adds.
Convincing their parents to let them shift to the capital city was not easy. Furthermore, studying an art form is a very unconventional pursuit in our society. “I had to fight with my father to come here. He was adamant in not sending me to an entirely new city. But even I was an extremely stubborn child,” says Thapa smiling.
Lucky Darlami, on the other hand, used to learn contemporary dance from TV shows and various tutorials online back in Butwal. “I took part in numerous dance competitions there. But Butwal had no professional dance schools to guide me. Hence, I decided to come to Kathmandu with my friend Glory Thapa,” says Darlami. His parents were apprehensive about sending him to Kathmandu because Kathmandu was an expensive city. Also, building a successful career in dancing is difficult in our country.
However, for them, Kathmandu was the only hope and dancing their only passion. They knew this city could refine them and pave the path for greater opportunities ahead. “Our first year in Kathmandu was extremely tough. It was difficult to pay the rent and bills. We had to ask money from our parents every month,” says Darlami adding that their situation is a lot better now. “I’m glad we came here. We have professional teachers and encouraging friends that only push us forward,” he adds.
Arpana Lama claims that she was interested in dancing since her childhood days. “My body was flexible and I had a spring on my feet that was always ready to dance at any tune,” says Lama. After winning the first prize at a dance competition, Koirala offered her a dance scholarship. After two years of ballet dance training, Lama has now started teaching young ballet dancers at Sushila Arts Acadmey. “In the future, I plan to organize dance projects and promote this dance through various programs and workshops all over Nepal,” she adds.
Sunita Darnal had always been interested in fine arts. Hence, she came to Kathmandu to join an art college. “I used to have morning classes in my college. Hence, to utilize my afternoons, I planned join a dance academy,” says Darnal. After a few auditions she got selected for a scholarship at Sushila Dance academy.
This is how she started learning Ballet dance. “In the beginning I was nervous and lacked confidence. My mother thought I was just wasting time and money in Kathmandu. She wanted me to go back to my hometown where I could lead a comfortable life. But I wanted to struggle, learn, and grow. So I never gave up,” she adds. Darlani even invited her mother to watch her performance on stage in Kathmandu. That was the happiest moment of her life.
“I came to Kathmandu from India in order to organize a dance workshop. My parents are from Nepal but I have been brought up in India,” says Srijan Bhattarai, another scholarship student at the Academy. In Kathmandu, Bhattarai saw Facebook videos of Lucky Darlami dancing. “I then came to know about Sushila Arts Academy. Professional dance courses in India were extremely expensive,” adds Bhattarai claiming that Kathmandu gave him the hope to take his career in dance forward.
While getting trained by professional dancers is a dream come true for all five of these dancers, they still have to face numerous societal pressures every day. “People think ballet is only for girls. They often look shocked when I tell them that I’m a ballet dancer,” says Bhattarai. “But people should understand that art does not discriminate on the basis of religion, caste or gender,” he adds.
All five of the dancers have their own dreams and aspirations. While some want to build a strong foundation of ballet dance in Nepal others want to go abroad to pursue their passion further. But their will to do something different, their optimism about the future, and their love for dancing are what binds them together despite their differences.
“We know it’s not going to be an easy journey but in the end it’s going to be beautiful,” concludes Lama.
Reflections of a passionate teacher
Elena Terekhova from Moscow can neither speak in English nor in Nepali. However, she manages to communicate with her students at Sushila Art Academy in the language of art. Her dedication and love for ballet dance can certainly be seen in her compassionate teaching.
“I’m very impressed to see how art, dance, theater, and music are appreciated in Nepal. My students are very eager to learn. They are passionate about art and the best part is that they always have a smile on their faces,” says Terekhova in Russian that Koirala quickly translates for us. “I am also excited to set up a system and build a solid foundation to develop this form of art in Nepal,” she adds.
