Unqualified dance teachers make a killing

CHENNAI: There is a new scourge in town: unqualified or barely qualified

classical dance

teachers. With the Covid-19 epidemic and the shift of all training to online platforms, many of these teachers, who learn off the internet or have short stints at one academy or another, have found many willing students, who want to learn something during the lockdown.

“But learning the right technique in classical dance is important as it requires more time and effort to unlearn the wrong ones,” said

VP Dhananjayan

, founder-president of

Bharata Kalanjali

.

Given the demand, classical dance teachers have mushroomed all over Chennai and online classes have caught on the imagination of learners. Many unqualified "teachers" have been teaching, pretending to be graduates of prestigious dance academies and disciples of renowned artists in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. But the problem is not that they teach, but they don't teach the right steps which are essential to build the foundation of a classical art form and take it further.

All the teachers TOI spoke to said they have come across at least a few students, complaining about the fact that they’ve been taken for a ride


“There are people who learn a few steps online or attend a week-long workshop by a renowned artist and claim that they are their disciples. When in reality they are not even thorough with the foundation and lead students the wrong way,” said

Honey

Unnikrishnan, a renowned Mohiniyattam dancer.

Arpana Kumar, an IT professional, learnt Mohiniyattam from a teacher, claiming to be a disciple of a renowned dancer from Kerala Kalamandalam (a centre for classical performing arts in Thrissur district in Kerala) dancer. However, when she met a few dancers from the same institute and showed them what she learnt, they laughed at her. “They said they never heard of my teacher. I then enquired with the dancer he claimed to be a student of, and she said he only learnt with her for a month and then stopped,” said Arpana.

Sreelatha Vinod

, a Bharatanatyam dancer and guest lecturer at the Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Music and

Fine Arts University

, explained that classical art forms require rigorous training, which requires years of practice. “The basic techniques, like the araimandi or the half-sitting posture, footwork, body lines and effective use of eyes are a must to perfect the art,” she said. Sreelatha said that parents must do a great level of research about the teacher, not just by logging onto their website but by watching their performance, their students' performance, and their behaviour. She also urged the authorities to make classical dance a part of school education as it will help provide them with the right foundation.

“Just like we don’t let underqualified teachers teach our children, we need to ensure that the dance teacher has the certification or a degree from a certified institute. We must not treat dance as a frivolous activity, this is a full-time job,” said Honey.



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