Age no hindrance for this dancing duo

Age is just a number and life is endless, goes a saying. This is indeed true as the city will get to witness a rare Bharat­a­natyam performance by two senior artistes. 

Come June 4, Minakshi Thakor (59) and Deva Nahata (67) will present a Bharat­anatyam performance 'Swapnaakaar- Living the Dream of Dancing Feet’, directed by Bharathi Vittal. 

For Minakshi this is the first stage performance. Nahata is a trained Bharatnatyam dancer. 

The artistes said that their childhood dreams of learning dance motivated them to learn Bharatanatyam and perform one day. 

Minakshi, a mother of two children, said, “I happened to visit a Bharatnatyam dance class a few years ago and wondered if I also could learn the dance form. I took dance classes under the guidance of Shobhana Rajendran and her daughters Leena and Lekha in Vadodra. Now, I am all set to fulfill my desire to perform on the stage for the first time.”

Donning many caps as a writer, poet, singer and Bharatnatyam dancer is Deva Nahata, a former student of K M Raman, who is being trained by Bharathi Vittal at present. She performed her first Nritya Abhinaya in 2010 at the age of 60 and there has been no looking back ever since. 

Nahata said, “I received the Brahmi Kala Award by Vihar Manch, Kolkata in 2012. Last year, I presented the Bhara­tanatyam performance ‘Bhavabhinaya,’ a blend of Hindi poetic compositions, some of them written by me. This will be my seventh solo performance and my aim is to keep learning. Minakshi and I are practising regularly and I am really looking forward to performing.”

To watch the performance of the two dance enthusiasts, head to KEA Prabhat Auditorium, Kamalanagar where the show will start at 6.30 pm on June 4.