Chennai :

In the field of performing arts for more than two decades now, Ajith Bhaskaran has travelled far and wide with shows — solos, group and collaborative works.

However, performing Chennai and across India can be both a challenge and a different experience for the same reason. Talking to City Express, Ajith who has trained under Adyar Lakshman and the Dhananjayans, both from Chennai, says that organisations still prefer women dancers. “Abroad, they seek out male dancers for the very reason that they are men,” he strikes a quick contrast. “I find more work outside with theatre and dance companies, who are very interested. Here, going by my experience, the thought process is still traditional.”

Many still prefer to see female dancers or find their work more interesting,” he says. Ajith says that apart from being a male dancer, there are other obstacles or challenges that even women dancers have to cope with. “It takes longer to establish, compared to other professions, and not many think dance is a serious profession,” he lets on.

Training from a young age under a host of gurus like Bhanumathi Krishnan, Shanta Ponnudurai, Shanta Bhaskar in bharathanatyam, Ramli Ibrahim and Gajendra Kumar Panda in Odissi, Ajith began touring with Ibrahim on the latter’s production. Soon after completing a degree in law and pursuing it for two years, Ajith chose to get back to dance professionally.

“Despite pursuing law as a filial son, for almost two years, I found my ultimate calling in dance and decided to get back to it,” he says.

Establishing his own dance company Suvarna Fine Arts based in Johor Bahru, where today close to 300 Malaysian-born Indians are trained, there is also a performance wing which frequently tours around the world. Travelling across South East Asia, India, the US, Canada and Europe, Ajith also conducts lecture demonstrations and workshops. He regularly visits renowned dancer Viji Prakash’s school in California as a camp instructor in summer every year.

With a working knowledge in several languages like Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Sanskrit, Ajit says that while he trained in the Kalakshetra style over the years, he has developed his own body language. “My work is not restricted to the traditional repertoire. I would say bharathanatyam is the language I work with. It is about using classical dance as a powerful medium. There are diverse topics that I have worked on — for example, brahmakalpa, which was about the Big Bang Theory, with Rama Vaidyanathan, and there are bharathanatyam works like the one on Sufi poetry and the tree (Vriksha),” he says

Ajith will be participating at the Esplanade Theatre’s programme which will mark Singapore’s 5oth Year of Independence next year.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Janani Sampath / February 18th, 2015