Chanchal Patra cannot think of a life without dance. A trained Odissi dancer, she also excels in other dance forms like Bollywood and hip hop. However, fame came her way after she participated in Dance Odisha Dance Super Moms last year, where she was adjudged second runner-up.
Born to Rajkishore and Pushpa Patra from Puri, Chanchal took to dancing at an early age. “I was good at both academics and extracurricular activities. I would often participate in debates and singing and dancing competitions. However, my parents did not give much importance to my interests and did not send me to a dance class. However, I took dancing seriously and would practice regularly,” says Chanchal, who considers Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi her idols.
Chanchal says that she learnt a lot watching Madhuri and Sridevi perform on screen. “They are flawless dancers. I picked up a lot of dance steps just watching them. In fact, I wanted to become a dancer and choreographer after watching them,” she says.
Finally, she saw her dreams coming true after she joined the Silicon Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar, to pursue a course in computer engineering. “My institute gave me an opportunity to perform at different shows. I also started organising and choreographing dance shows in my college. I won the best hosteler award and came second in computer engineering. My teachers and friends would often wonder how I could perform and choreograph shows without any formal training,” she says.
Chanchal shifted base to Mumbai after her marriage to Suresh Subudhi from Berhampur in 2007. However, she continued to pursue her passion. “My in-laws are very supportive. They realised that I did not want to sit idle at home and encouraged me to work. I was lucky to find a job and at the same time also joined a school, where I started giving dance lessons to children,” she says.
A few months later, Chanchal got an opportunity to participate in a dance workshop conducted by choreographer Terrence Lewis. The workshop helped her hone her dancing skills. However, dance took a backseat during her pregnancy. After she became a mom, Chanchal once again started practicing and decided to participate in Dance India Dance Super Moms. She could not make it beyond the first round but that didn’t demoralise her.
“In 2018, I went to my hometown Puri to attend my brother’s marriage. There I came across Sangram K Barik, owner of a company named Infinite Moves. After interacting with him, I realised that Puri had changed a lot in the last few years and many aspiring dancers were trying to participate in dance reality shows. Sangram invited me as a judge for one of his dance shows. Impressed with my dance moves, he advised me to give Dance Odisha Dance a try. My husband was extremely supportive. Performing in front of judges like Saswat Joshi, Rajasmita Kar and Amit Nayak on the show was a great experience,” she adds.
After being adjudged the second runner-up, Chanchal went back to Mumbai but continued dancing. “I spotted the same talent in my daughter. But unlike my parents, I didn’t neglect her talent. I was already teaching dance to kids. I decided to enrol my daughter in a dance school,” she says. For two years now, Chanchal and her daughter have been learning Odissi dance under the guidance of Asha Nambiar at Vaishnovi Kalakshetra in Dadar, Mumbai. And the mother and daughter often perform together at various events.
After her second child was born, Chanchal added yoga and Pilates to her list of activities in order to stay fit. She says that she wants to help children who are passionate about dancing but often have to give up due to lack of guidance. “There is immense potential in today’s children. There are so many talented kids in Puri but they lack proper guidance. So, my husband and I have started a foundation, 1P3S, which supports young talents, grooms them and helps them get a platform where they can showcase their dancing skills. We organise workshops which are conducted by dancers from abroad,” Chanchal says.
BRATATI BARAL, OP
