'I don't blow my own trumpet'

<div class="section1"><div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="35.6%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /><img src="/photo/484334.cms" alt="/photo/484334.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">FOOTLOOSE: </span><span style="" font-size:="">Shobana divides her time between movies and her dance schools</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Mitr</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""> and the National Award for the best actress that followed still stand fresh in memory.Shobana is back on the 70mm with </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Dance Like a Man, directed by Pamela Rooks. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">"It''s an NFDC film and should release in April," says Shobana, taking a break after rehearsing with her students while visiting the city for a performance. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">"Nowadays, I only accept films that help me learn. I no longer have the energy to wake up and head towards film studios 365 days a year. Sixty days is what I can do." In the pipeline is also another Hindi film. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">For the time being, taking centre stage is Shobana''s dance schools, which will see her dividing her time between Kalarpana Chennai and the new school in Muscat. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">"I''ll be travelling every three months to the Gulf. We are planning another centre in Dubai. My students will teach and I''ll be present for the master classes," says Shobana. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""><formid=367815></formid=367815></span><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal">Teaching overseas is a different ballgame, she explains. "Once students reach class 10 or 12, students in the Gulf have to make a choice. They either go abroad for higher studies or return to India." <br /><br />Starting her dance school when she was barely 20 was a tough task and she''s glad her students are taking it forward. <br /><br />"Two of my students have started their own schools. In fact, there''s more pressure on me now," she says. Putting her team on the world map was the recent tour to US and Canada. <br /><br />"I don''t like to blow my own trumpet," hesitates Shobana. "But the audiences and the critics appreciated our presentation at the World Music Institute, Broadway." <br /><br />Shobana''s timetable is choc-a-bloc with acting and dance. "I had a great time at the peak of my acting career too. I moved on only when I stopped learning. I''m still learning in dance." <br /><br /><formid=367815></formid=367815></div> </div>