Rudra created a sensation after becoming the first Indian to perform and choreograph Indian styles in the Greek version of So You think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) in May this year. At the show, the 29-year-old Oriya lad who was staying in Greece since 2014 effected a fusion of contemporary dance and martial art, and this had impressed the judges. He was then invited to choreograph for the semi-final and final of the shows in July
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP
There’s no fix mode or pattern for talents to sprout or bloom. It just happens. Talents lie dormant in many around us and they sprout when the right opportunity springs up. Showcasing such talents often wins wholesome praise; and geniuses are often born out of what starts as casual attempts. So with dance. Sumon Rudra from Rourkela falls in the category of those who have realised the hidden talent in them at a relatively later stage in life. A noted dancer by now, he says, “I didn’t quite have a great experience with dance in the beginning. I was in a boys’ school where I had my debut performance as a girl because of my short height. The next year, it was again the same story. So I gave up dancing for some years and started focusing on my grades. However, I did get back to perform once or twice more while in high school, but didn’t quite take it seriously because I was preparing for my board and Engineering entrance exams. Much later, when I was in my first year at NIT Rourkela, I went through an emotional crisis and I was into depression for months. To overcome that, I decided to start dancing again and it helped me get back to my passion. I never stopped dancing after that.”
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Rudra created a sensation after becoming the first Indian to perform and choreograph Indian styles in the Greece version of So You think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) in May this year. At the show, the Oriya lad who was staying in Greece since 2014 effected a fusion of contemporary dance and martial art, and this had impressed the judges. He was then invited to choreograph for the semi-final and final of the shows in July. “I was just hanging out with a bunch of friends when someone said SYTYCD is back in Greece after 10 years and the auditions were on. I tried and got an opportunity to participate in it. I introduced Bollywood dance and the southern martial art Kalaripayattu, on the show. I went through auditions and made it to the top 35, but couldn’t get into the top 20. However,
I got a call before the semifinal episode in the same season. They wanted me back in the show, now as choreographer, to create a Bollywood number. I was the first Indian choreographer there, who also introduced Bollywood in SYTYCD Greece.
A self-taught dancer throughout his school life, he went on to create The Mavericks, an all-style dance club at NIT Rourkela, where he choreographed and performed different dance styles like hip hop, Bollywood, Indian semi-classical and contemporary forms, among others. “I got trained in Bharatanatyam for a year during my NITR days,” says he.
LEARNING ROPES IN BANGALORE
After graduating in 2012 from
NIT Rourkela, Rudra decided to pursue dance as a career. He was selected for a one-year diploma programme in Contemporary Dance in the Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, Bangalore. He got
trained extensively in Ballet, Bharatanatyam, Kalaripayattu, Yoga and Contemporary Dance techniques. There, he had teachers from Germany, Israel, the US, Scotland and Poland, among others. After gradu
ating in the Atta Kalari, he collaborated with the Director of NIT Rourkela, Prof. Sunil Sarangi, to introduce Contemporary Dance for the first time as an open elective course in an engineering Institute in India, and facilitated the launch of the course as the youngest visiting faculty in the Institute.
SCHOOL OF DANCE, GREECE
During this period, he auditioned and was selected in the professional training programme in the prestigious National School of Dance (KSOT),Athens, Greece. He eventually moved in there in 2014. After a year at KSOT, he joined the Aktina Dance School to continue with his dance education. “My decision to move to Greece was tough for my parents. My father had always hoped I would one day become an engineer and work at the steel plant. Life in Rourkela revolved around the steel plant. But I was passionate about dance and couldn’t imagine myself sitting behind a desk for the rest of my life. So I decided to do what I loved most – dancing. At the age of 24, I set out to become a professional dancer. I was advised not to, was mocked at for my decision by my friends, and was even forced by many to quit, but I stood my ground. I have never regretted a single day. By now, they have started to understand me and are happy about the way I am,” Rudra said.
CID-UNESCO
In Greece, Rudra was part of the Bollywood and Multicultural Dance Festival under the aegis of the Council of International Dance (CID –UNESCO), a one-ofits-kind Hindi style dance academy, where he choreographs and teaches the different Indian and western style dance forms. “I have trained formally in contemporary dance the most, but I love Bollywood and hip-hop as well, and I enjoy staging all dance forms equally well, no matter what among them am I performing.” What are the dancer’s future plans? He says he’s still learning and happy to teach others the classical styles of India. “I just finished my three-year professional diploma in contemporary dance this year under the Greek ministry of culture. Apparently, I am the first Indian to do so. I will travel more, learn and explore other dance forms before I come back to India to set up something for the artists in Orissa,” Rudra says.
HIS GURUS
About the dancing sensations who influenced him, Rudra says, “I simply cannot name one single artist because I learn something from each dancer I come across. However, my all-time favourites are Javed Jaffari and Prabhu Deva. Over a period of time, I watched a lot of dance reality shows. I started following their steps. I like Jai Kumar Nair and Dharmesh of Boogie Woogie, I love Twitch from ‘So You Think You Can Dance, America,’ and Cyrus glitch. I am inspired by the works of Akram Khan and Sidi Larbi in the contemporary dance world.” Rudra plans to organise workshops in India and in specific Orissa the next year. “I hope to bring in some of the internationally famous artists for these workshops so that the talented dancers in Orissa will have a chance to see them in action and improve their skills,” he adds.
