Yamini Reddy: Indian classical dance has depth which entertains Bollywood

Long before she decided to become a professional

Kuchipudi

dancer,

Yamini Reddy

used to imitate Madhuri Dixit, and the signature step from the actress' popular song 'Chane ke khet mein', was her favourite.

Having said that,

Bollywood

dance style was never Reddy's cup of tea. And strangely, Reddy, who can effortlessly pull off a 20-minute long Kuchipudi sequence, always 'struggled with the steps' of Bollywood numbers.


"Maybe the reason is that I never had interest in that. I always feel lost while dancing to Bollywood songs, be it at a friend's marriage or some other occasion. I just fail to remember the steps," Reddy said.

Instead, the danseuse was always keen on exploring the 'depth' of Indian classical dance forms. For her, Indian classical dance is like reading a novel, contrary to Bollywood dances, which, she said, are more like 'comics or

Sidney Sheldon

's books'.

"Classical dance has depth to it. It involves your mind, body and soul simultaneously. It has the depth of a good novel." "Now don't compare it with comics or Sidney Sheldon book. Surely, they also entertain you. But there is a time for both," Reddy said.

However, she is not an admirer of the ongoing trend of dance reality shows, which she feels, are a way to 'mint money, rather than promoting the art forms'.

"They don't care if people are learning anything by watching the show or not. Everything is so quick in those shows - 30 seconds and done. You cannot present classical dance on such platforms."

"You just cannot capture the essence of any dance in such less time. We take one minute just to enter the stage and that is the beauty of Indian classical dance," she said.

Daughter of renowned dancing couple, Raja and Radha Reddy, it is only natural that dance forms the topic of most of their conversations. But, the family is now consciously making efforts to not talk about dance when Reddy's businessman husband is around.

"Dance has been in our everyday conversations since time immemorial. We can talk about it everywhere and anywhere. My husband just can't handle this."

"He is like, 'Even I enjoy dance and music, but why you to bring it up in all the conversations'. It is tough, but we are adjusting," Reddy quipped.

Glad that she stuck to her decision of being a Kuchipudi dancer against the wishes of her parents who wanted her to "become a doctor and lead an easy life", she said "people should not lose interest or knowledge of their own roots". "One should always remember where we come from and cherish the beauty of our roots," the danseuse said.