Have feet, will dance

Five-year-old Ananya Kurup from Nerul is the youngest artiste to enter into the Guinness Book

Childhood is when girls like to play with Barbies and doll’s house but  five-year-old  little girl Ananya Kurup  loves to play with ‘ghungroos’  right from her infant days. This Nerul girl  is a dancing prodigy, and her natural flair for dancing was first noticed when she was a little more than a year-old. Ananya had recently staged her 56th solo stage performance at the Chemmenur NICE Fest held at D Y Patil auditorium on November 21.

She was a guest dancer and showcased her agile moves continuously for three-and-a-half hours at a Bharatnatyam recital. Sitting in the audience was K C Chandran, father of danseuse Sudha Chandran, who was so overwhelmed that he came on stage and touched the feet of this little girl after pronouncing her as goddess Sarawati. 

She is the youngest to enter into the Guinness Book of Record as the ‘Youngest Classical Dancer’. Her mother Pravitha, who is also a classical dancer by profession, discovered the inborn talent of her daughter at the age of one and took the toddler along with her  as she taught dance to her students in Kharghar Kerala Samajam.

“I never taught her as she would pick up steps and mudras just by watching others.” She has the quality to grasp all Varnams and Rasas, expressions required to reflect the many moods of Bharatnatyam, like an ace dancer. Her mother recalled, “she liked to wear her ghungroos all the time; even while sleeping. As soon as she appears in her dancing costumes her mood immediately swings to devotion.”

Ananya presented her first stage show at the age of two at Ayyappa temple at CBD. “In general, children start learning to dance at the age of five or six and by 12, they go for ‘Arengatram’. But Ananya has already learnt all the 10 dance items required right from Ganesh Vandana till Tillana and performed her Arengatram last year at the age of four.

She completed the seven-year-course within three years,” commented Valsa Damodaran, another artiste and the organizer of the fest.Little Ananya also performed in Dance IndiaDance Little Master at a popular TV dance reality show, and subsequently she was acclaimed by all mentors and Sandeep Soparkar during her performance , though she could not compete as because she is underage.

 
Not only classical style, Ananya is also an expert in modern and western dance and has already well-known for her belly dancing which she does with  great élan.Ananya is good at studies as well .This Sr. Kg. student of Presentation Convent School at Nerul secured   98.7% in her last qualifying examination. Like other children she is fond of chocolates.

 
She is a fan of Sharukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor. When asked about her ambition, she promptly replied, “I want to become a doctor . But I love dance very much, and would  like to continue my stage shows side by side.” 
She has an interest to learn other forms too, namely, Kuchipudi and Odissi . 

Pravitha added, “I would like  her to take dance lesson in KalaKshetra  under Guru Padma Balasubramaniyam and the legendary dancer Sovna.” Call it a coincidence, but Ananya is going to perform in front of her ideal Sovna who will be coming to Navi Mumbai early next year.
timesnm@indiatimes.com 

She liked to wear her ghungroos all the time; even while sleeping. As soon as she is dressed in her dancing costumes, her mood immediately swings to devotion.

— Pravitah  Kurup ananya’s mother 

Sources: The Times of Navi Mumbai