Little did Arunima Kumar know that she would be dancing on the stairs of historical Buckingham Palace tomorrow in front of British Queen Elizabeth II when she had started learning dance at the age of seven.
Little did Arunima Kumar know that she would be dancing on the stairs of historical Buckingham Palace tomorrow in front of British Queen Elizabeth II when she had started learning dance at the age of seven.
"I was thrilled when I was conveyed by the Buckingham Palace through an email that I will be performing before the Queen along with my troupe," says Arunima, a celebrated dancer and choreographer.
The Queen is hosting a reception for some prominent Indians to mark the 70th year of India's independence.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to the UK last year, had announced that 2017 would be marked as the "Year of Culture" by the two countries.
Mother of a three-year-old baby girl, Aaishwariya, Arunima feels that her childhood has revisited her.
"Yes, it was on my bucket list," she said when asked whether she ever thought of performing before the Queen.
"I always dream big and dream the impossible because I feel we have one life, give life a chance. Though, I can't believe it is actually happening. My grandfather always called me 'Prince of wales' and today I wish he was there to see this," she recalled.
She would be performing 'Kuchipudi" dance tomorrow besides choreographing an event along with her troupe members Shivani Bhandari, Sethia Jesal Patel, Helene Lesage, Elena Catalano and others infront of the Queen and special visitors from India which includes Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
The event is also likely to be attended by Bollywood celebrities like Aamitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan.
"I am only focusing on the performance and I want it to be the best," says Arunima when asked how is the preparation going on for the event.
Arunima, who is daughter of former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar, has 1000 performance to her credit.
She said her each show was unique but tomorrow's show was something which she wants to be an outstanding performance.
"I have performed at Sydney Opera House, at the Olympic torch parade...I feel my performance at Rio was very beautiful and the crowds were wonderful but for tomorrow's event I am keeping my fingers crossed," she said.
"The piece I present is titled EKAM - a celebration of diverse styles from different states of India and oneness, India's unique strength," said Arunima, who will have Bhaghya Lakshmi, Showmi Das, Archana Patel and Debanjali Biswas as her performers.
The performance is presented by Akademi, a British arts institution.
Arunima is the creative director and choreographer and performer of the piece which is being organised by festival Director Sanjoy K Roy.
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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