A 13-year-old school student scripted history by performing Bharatanatyam Arangetram in China, a landmark in the journey of the ancient Indian dance form. Lei Muzi made her solo dance debut in Beijing on Sunday in front of the celebrated Bharatanatyam dancer Leela Samson, several Indian diplomats and a large audience of Chinese fans. A team of musicians also flew in from Chennai and sang the classical numbers for Lei to perform.
The Indian classical dance form is reportedly gaining popularity in neighbouring China. For ardent Chinese fans of Bharatanatyam, who devoted their lives to learning and performing it for decades, Muzi's debut was a milestone as it was the first-ever “Arangetram” -- Bharatnatyam's graduation ceremony -- in China.
For the performers of the ancient dance from South India, Arangetram, as it is called in Tamil, is their debut performance on stage in front of teachers and experts besides the audience. Only after Arangetram are the students allowed to perform on their own or train aspiring dancers. A video of Muzi's debut performance has gone viral on social media, where she can be seen dancing to classical Indian beats.
As per a report by news agency PTI, Muzi is due to perform in Chennai later this month. She was trained for over 10 years at the Bharatanatyam school run by noted Chinese Bharatanatyam dancer Jin Shan Shan. Jim herself was the first accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer to have held her Arangetram in 1999 in New Delhi. She was reportedly one of the numerous Chinese students who were trained by eminent Chinese dancer Zhang Jun.
Muzi, also known as Dudu, said she fell in love with Bharatanatyam since she joined Jin’s school in 2014.
“I completely fell in love with it. I kept dancing till now. For me, Bharatanatyam is not only a beautiful art and dance form but also the embodiment of Indian culture,” she told PTI.
“This fascinates me greatly, as well as the gorgeous and graceful movements during a dance item. Overall, I extremely love Bharatanatyam. For me, it is already a daily activity to do, and I am truly interested in the culture of India,” the 13-year-old added.
Talking about her student, Jin said, “Lei’s Arangetram is the first time that Chinese students trained by a Chinese teacher have completed in China, which is a landmark in the history of Bharatanatyam inheritance."
Jin, who is widely known in China and India and has held numerous performances, said she is proud to see one of her students complete her Arangetram.
“Bharatanatyam has brought us close together. For ten years, Lei has come to my home every weekend to attend classes, which not only let me witness her growth but also made us family...It reminds me of how my guru, Leela Samson, taught me when I did my Arangetram,” she said. Sunday’s Arangetram is a festival for us," she said.
TS Vivekanand, the First Secretary of the Indian Embassy in charge of culture who attended the event, said it was a properly done Arangetram in a very traditional way.
"This is the first-ever Arangetram by a student fully trained in China and performed in China,” Vivekanand added.