Harsha Reddy, a 24 year-old dance teacher who runs his own dance academy Urhythmix in Bengaluru’s J.P Nagar was told very plainly by his family that dancing was not a career for men. He is one of the few young men in the city who have dared to take up dancing as a career.
“Coming from an agricultural family, I received no support to pursue my passion for teaching dance. My family said that it was not a career for men and it would be tough to find a girl who would marry me,” reiterates Harsha.
In India, men who dance have often been looked down upon as being too feminine, or just less manly. This, despite classical dance in India originally being the preserve of men alone. Nataraja, the icon and symbol of dance, is male. If anything, things have become more complex with men in the field of classical dances being tagged as feminine, while those who are part of Bollywood or Western forms of dance getting off lightly. Dance forms seem to have a gender with the graceful and fragile movements in classical ballet being feminine and men associated with more strong and aggressive dance forms such as hip hop.
Harsh Baid, a second-year BBA student from Christ University says his parents support dancing as a hobby and not as a career choice. He has been told that “it is not a job that would receive respect from society”.
Having trained in different dance institutes and performed for many years Harsh says, “There aren’t enough opportunities to train in India and possess international skill sets to take up dancing as a profession.”
Bharat Sevenraj, a student from Jain University who is a well-known, versatile dancer among the youth of Bengaluru, says “Going abroad is the only way I see myself getting a deeper understanding of dance.” As a student of an all-boys school, he also faced pressure to fit in, because boys are generally encouraged to join sports or sciences.
