Dance Like A Man

Abhishek Ravi has taken Bharatanatyam from the intimate Indian sociocultural gatherings in Auckland to New Zealand’s national television. He has not just introduced the Indian classical dance form to the Kiwis but is becoming an inspiration for many young boys like him to take up Bharatanatyam.

- Arwa Janjali

During my stint in New Zealand five years ago, I came across an enigmatic nine-year-old Bharatanatyam dancer. He would emerge as the little ‘Kanha’ on stage—bansuri (flute) in hand, matching steps with the Gopis—at either performances organised at Indian community gatherings or at events organised by his classical dance school in New Zealand. That he outdid all the girls on stage with his immaculate movement, flexibility of body and sheer focus, was hard to miss.

Today, 14-year-old Abhishek Ravi has brought Bharatanatyam to the fore in a land where the traditional Maori Haka still rules the roost, along with the popular contemporary and Western classical dance forms. He has achieved the feat by winning the first season of an ‘Indianinspired’ dance reality show in NZ—The Great NZ Dance Masala, telecast on the country’s national television. Ever since the auditioning process of the show began, Kiwis sat up and took notice of not just Abhishek’s dance moves but most importantly, his apparent desire to inspire other boys to take up the Indian classical dance form.