Natya is the name of the dance club of PES College. The name of this club, which otherwise was nameless for many years, was coined recently. Natya features all forms of dance genres from classical, folk, contemporary to Western group dance. The club accommodates four small groups, each of which, is skilled in one particular form of dance.
Rakshata B Rao, the lead member of the team and a classical dancer, has formed her own dance group along with her friends Ranjita and Soumya. “Even though we are trained in classical dance, we perform every genre. We, ourselves choreograph our performances and do not hire accessories or costumes. But when we require any external assistance, the college lends the financial support. Natya selects only one group out of the four different groups for the competition and all the other groups abide by it,” says Rakshata, who has won second prize in an inter-collegiate competition held at her college. “My team has represented the college in many festivals and the contemporary dance we recently performed on the Republic Day was appreciated by everyone. Now we are busy in composing a theme-based contemporary dance for the upcoming college fest of our college,” she adds.
Hemalatha B C leads a team which mainly performs folk dance and classical group dance. They have emerged runners-up at St Joseph’s College’s Hongirana Fest, where they performed a filmy folk piece. Her team comprises six girls namely M Lelavathi, Manasa, Kamala, Chitra A T and Ashwini. “Many of our lecturers have a good sense of folk culture and they assist us in selecting different themes every time. The huge auditorium, inside the campus, provides a convenient place for rehearsals. We enjoy a lot while rehearsing for the competitions and we have fun imitating each other,” says Hemalatha.
Koushika, Anusha D, Kumar and friends have a team, which is known for its Western dance forms, and has even won a prize at the Jain College festival. Venkata Raju and friends too perform Western dances. “When Natya receives an invitation from other colleges, any one of us can be selected to represent the college. But we never get jealous of the team which gets a chance to perform. We often share our resources and costumes with each other to ensure the success of Natya. The club Natya acts as the unifying force between us,” opines Koushika, one of the prominent members of the forum.
