Awareness about ballet is indeed picking up in the country, "albeit slowly,” according to entrepreneur and teacher of the dance form Karene Lawyer. "There are a lot more schools and teachers than when I was studying ballet,” says the 32-year-old owner of Dance Essentials, a dance-gym-skate wear company, in conversation with Parsiana on October 5, 2017. There are nearly 40 dance schools all over the country with over 10 in Bombay alone, she says. Lawyer, with fellow enthusiast and ballet teacher Ashifa Vasi, has conceptualized and is curating and conducting the Ballet Festival of India "an in-depth holistic platform to promote ballet to serious students, teachers and dancers” from November 24 to 26, 2017.
The three-day event will provide "24 hours of intensive ballet,” notes Lawyer. On the cards are nine classes by faculty drawn from France, India, USA, Israel and The Philippines; three seminars on topics like "Musicality in dance” and "History of ballet;” screenings of documentaries on the dance form "to provide deeper understanding of (dance) movements,” and panel discussions. Faculty will include Tushna and Khushcheher Dallas and Yehuda Ma’or who featured recently in filmmaker Sooni Taraporevala’s virtual reality film Yeh Ballet (see "Bombay ballet boys’ virtual reality,” Parsiana, July 21, 2017).
Ballet enthusiasts Karene Lawyer (above and inset) and Ashifa Vasi
The registrants will "train, perform and network with the fellow enthusiasts from all over the country,” exults Lawyer. Twenty registrations have been received as of October 11, of which 17 have been accepted. Lawyer, who began studying the dance form at age five at Tushna Dallas’ School for Classical Ballet and Western Dance where she trained in the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus for 10 years, hopes to close with between 50 and 70 participants. Fees are Rs 13,000 per registrant and discounts are available for groups of enthusiasts "who register as a school.”
"It was really Ashifa’s idea, based on what she observed when studying ballet overseas,” says Lawyer, modestly, of the venture. "We both want to bring top-level teachers and expose our young talent to the finer nuances of the dance form.” A fortuitous meeting between the duo, when Vasi walked into Lawyer’s retail outlet as a customer, led to the teaming up of the ballet buffs.
What were the challenges in putting up the dance fest? Lawyer states that the duo surveyed and interviewed teachers and students at many of the dance academies in the country. "Everyone feels they are doing it right, and there is no room for improvement in their teaching techniques. We have had to do some convincing to ballet teachers that an opportunity like this does not come often.” Lawyer hopes to make the Festival an annual feature.
An alumna of Cathedral and John Connon School, Lawyer (née Mody) graduated from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts with a degree in physics and dance. Married to Shaun, a real estate professional, she is mother to three-year-old Zahan. Daughter of Feroza, who owns and runs home store Contemporary Arts and Crafts in Bombay, and Jimmy, a psychotherapist, Lawyer states she does not wear the sudreh and kusti sometimes, "but we follow all the rituals of the religion.”
Enquiries can be made at
balletfestivalofindia@gmail.com. "Financial support for this incredible event is welcome,” signs off Lawyer.