I remember a time, back when I was young, and my mother used to tell everyone around that I'm a dancer and the next thing that I knew would be strangers coming up and going, "Beta zara dance karke dikha dena"( beta, just show some of your dance moves to them).
It is one of the most uncomfortable memories that I have. Never did I ever think that dancing recklessly in front of well,almost everybody will become such a normal thing for me.
"I will dare to just do what I do, be just what I am, and dance whenever I want to."
I was a small kid when I stumbled across this quote by Beverly Williams, and was quite fascinated by it. I however, couldn't really follow it because of the extremely shy nature that I used to possess. I was just too insecure to break into dance in front of a bunch of people.
However, I did perform a lot of times on the massive, huge stage of my school, well, because the lights would blind me. I really couldn't see the audience (*wink*).
VIT DANCE CLUB has let me experience a lot of exciting, life changing moments, but I genuinely think that this specific part is the one I look upon fondly, because everytime I seem to recall it, I can visualise the change that I've been through, and believe me, it's massive.
*Life in FOODYS*
When I was first selected into the Dance club, there was only thing that was daunting for me. How are these people so comfortable dancing like that in foodys in front of practically everyone.
That thought process didn't really change when it was my turn, and I realized that the anxiety I had previously faced, was nothing compared to what I was about to venture into.
I'm a part of the Bollywood Badmaash Company,
and traditionally belonged to a classical dance background, so perfirming the bollywood numbers and these item songs was not just something new for me, but also something I wasn't really confident or comfortable about.
Everytime I'd try to relax and tell myself, it's okay, you'll be fine. Fast forward to a couple of seconds later, when any complex step introduced by our seniors would bring me such levels of anxiety, simply because even if I made a single mistake, almost the entire college would witness it. That, I personally believe was the peak of my insecurities.
I learnt to multitask, fascinated by looking at our seniors, who danced without any embarrassment as if there literally was no one is watching, while trying to focus on not making any mistake during practice, getting comfortable with the style and also trying to constantly eliminate the thought that the entire group of people in foodys are not standing there just to look at me and make a critical judgement of how I picked my left leg up instead of my right.
That was the level of my anxiety!
When I look back and compare my situation from then to right now it's almost comical because I wonder at what point did that scared, insecure, shy girl simply evolve. To be honest, I think it took me a few performances in greenos to just finally let go of that fear.
Foodys, is the place where you would find me or any other dance club member more than you would find them in classes. We dont have a proper ground, we dont have beautiful mirrors there nor do we have great acoustics.
We dance there in every season no matter what the circumstance,which is what made us tough but always kept us grounded no matter how many accolades we achieved.
Only something as powerful as the coronavirus had been able to temporarily stop us. I dont remember when, it became so comfortable for me to dance on that dirty ground, and when doing all sorts of floor work, despite of all mud on the clothes, on the body, in the hair, and to simply not care if anyone is watching became second nature to me.
Being a part of the dance club infact changed my fashion sense too. As a person, I am quite particular about what I wear and I particularly love dressing up. Okay, in hindsight, maybe I should use past tenses here, because all that changed. Now what I love to sport are loose, big, hanging tshirts and sweatpants since practicing in them Is so very comforting. And so the Vaishnavi, who would not repeat any clothes she wore on one day, for a month in her first year, transformed into a person who would not mind wearing the same tshirt for days at a stretch, because in the end, it was bound to end up riddled with mud, like always, for no matter what, you would always find
We never really had the time to look back at our lives in foodys, but now when I do, there are somethings I vividly remember having noticed.
There are always some people fighting in some corner, couples having a quality time in the other, groups of people just chilling out after their classes, some other clubs conducting their meetings or recruitments, basically an entire crowd around us, doing something or the other , and just minding their own business, while we are just simply dancing. Lost in our own world, correcting, practicing, working hard to refine each and every step, taking out errors, doing a crazy amount of run throughs and then gasping for air.
Infact, sometimes the reverberations of our loud music even renders us deaf towards the dreaded red tag whistles.
Foodys is the place where we have not only practiced, but also, lived our golden moments in college. The best memories I still have of college belong from that very place. We dance, we run, we cry, we support, we fight, all in the same place. I dont remember when foodys changed from a place in college to a part of our lives, a part of my dance team and a part of our dance club.
And when the time finally arrives that I have to leave this college, I dont think I would even miss my room as much as I shall miss Foodys. All my beautiful memories are wrapped and presented to me in this one place.
The very place that once horrified me, made me feel insecure, gave me an opportunity to open up too. To let go of the fear. To find out the best in me. To toughen myself up, mentally and physically.
It's a part of all of us. The mud, the dance, the music, the crowd, the reckless abandon, the strength, it's all wonderfully a part of this entire club wrapped up beautifully in one an envelope of foodys, and I'm glad I am a part of it.
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