Lucrezia Maniscotti from Italy has developed deep interest in Bharatanatyam dance and works towards spreading awareness about the dance form in India and abroad. She is visiting Hyderabad for talks and workshops on her passion of life.
Says Lucrezia, “From a very young age I had a fascination for dance. After watching an Indian dance performance at the Indian Cultural Centre in Milan, I started learning dance and also took the subject of Indology for study at the Milan University. The time that I spent with guru Adyar K. Lakshman was soulful. I used to come to India, learn for a while and go. I realised this was not enough and got a scholarship and lived like in a ‘Gurukulam’ with the ‘Master’ for 13 months. This was the best year of my life. I gave my debut performance at Kapalishwara temple. If we talk about Indian and Western dance, I think the technique is very similar to western ballet. But the difference is the Abhinaya. Bharatanatyam is a huge discipline that includes different skills apart from steps and body understanding; we need to understand Carnatic music, nattuvangam, ancient languages, mythology, mudra and literature. Lucrezia feels dance helps in enhancing the life of an individual.
She says, “Dance benefits the body, it balances the mind, soul and body. There are many wonderful gurus in India like Indira Kadambi, C.V. Chandrashekar, Leela Samson, the dancing couple Renjith and Vijna, Archana Karry and Mavin Khoo from Europe, who have always guided me. As far as Hyderabad is concerned, I like the creativity of youngsters.”
About the future of classical dance in India: “I’m scared of the propagation of bad quality dance. Quality takes time and commitment; very often people prefer shortcuts. But I’m sure there are people who work genuinely,” she adds.
