A ballerina is a title given to a female ballet dancer. After years of practising the positions, body postures and movements, a ballerina gets ready for her first ever stage performance. The nervousness and excitement which one feels before getting on stage is equivalent to that of jumping off a cliff and the Ballerina of the Month of February has done both these things, stage performance as well as jumping off a cliff.
Lavanya Verma – Ballerina of the Month February 2020
When
we think about adventure sports, the first thing that comes to our mind is
bungee jumping, para sailing or motor boating. Lavanya Verma, has already checked
off all these, and more, from her bucket list even before entering her teens.
Lavanya has learnt Kathak and Bharatnatyam for a few years before finding her true interest in ballet. She was highly inspired by her friends and was attracted to the elegance of this dance form along with the get up. After her very first class, she knew that ballet was her calling. This 12 year old ballerina has been learning under the tutelage of Miss Neha since the past 2 years and has recently appeared for the ISTD examination of Grade 1.
Lavanya loves coming to her ballet lessons and wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world
Not
only does Lavanya enjoy dancing, she also loves painting and doodling and
utilizes her free time to doodle away to her own little artistic world. Lavanya
is studying in Delhi Public School and is in 7th standard. What she likes the
most about her school is the numerous sports and cultural clubs that she can
choose from which give her a chance to try something new every academic year.
Lavanya loves painting, and has gifted many paintings to the LDAB Studio
Lavanya takes inspiration from the ballet videos available online and makes use of her free time by practising ballet. She looks forward to learning something new every class and is very fond of Miss Neha’s teaching. Lavanya enjoys the music and the movements of ballet and mentioned how her parents have always been her biggest support system. Lavanya was a part of The Nutcracker Ballet and really stood out with her performance in a dance called Le Marche.
Lavanya has recently given her ISTD Grade 1 examination and is currently pursuing her Grade 2 training
This
otherwise shy and introverted girl can be spotted doing back flips in her
society garden and is intrigued by stunts while not being afraid of taking
risks. Sports are an integral part of Lavanya’s life and she plays basketball
and volleyball in her school. Lavanya has a younger brother who is quite
different in nature from her. She is an extremely protective elder sister in
spite of all their banters and will not think twice before jumping into an
argument for her brother.
Lavanya shares a beautiful bond with her brother
When
asked about Lavanya’s most appreciable quality, her mother said that Lavanya is
extremely sincere and will put her heart and soul into everything that she
does. Lavanya is very passionate about ballet and wants to pursue it in the
future.
Lavanya and her group of friends who love coming to the Ballet classes. They are a strong team who motivate each other and monitor each other’s performances
As
someone who is driven by art and adventure, Lavanya believes in talking less
and expressing herself through her dance and doodles. We hope to see her
succeed in whichever path she chooses for herself and would like to wish her
the best of luck!
“You said you were flattered But my heart’s really shattered
And I’m lucky, I didn’t fly away.
My life’s sometimes great but at times it stinks like bait.
Okay okay…Just kidding!
My life’s like a swing. Not much of the bling.
It goes high and low. Fast, but really slow. .
It’s time to overcome your fear.
And all those around, let them hear.
That we are swinging higher, our inner spark turning into a fire.
This isn’t simply another song lyric, it’s a song called ‘Swing’ written by our future singer- songwriter Mihira Javdekar who is the ‘Ballerina of the Month’ of January. The ballet journey of this multifaceted 10-year-old is indeed peculiar.
Mihira Javdekar – Ballerina of the month Jan 2020
Friendship is not just another relationship, it’s an exceptional bond you share with that special someone who you meet by chance. That’s how Mihira met Kyra who was also interested in learning ballet and together they partook this art of graceful expressionism. Since the very first class, Mihira fell in love with ballet and enjoyed doing the various poses. She looks forward to learning something new each session.
Mihira and Kyra – Inspiring each other in many ways
When asked about Mihira’s journey as a ballerina, her mom Asmita Javdekar said “Her journey is quite interesting. Mihira joined LDAB with her friend Kyra and as a matter of fact, we stay in Kothrud, which is quite far from the academy. But, the dedication with which she attends each and every class in spite of the distance and traffic is really amazing.” Mrs. Javdekar also added “The credit majorly goes to the teacher, Miss Neha, who has played the most crucial role in keeping Mihira interested and guided her throughout.”
The dedicated ballerina during her sessions at LDAB
Mihira is Currently in Grade 2 (CSTD) and is going to give her Grade 1 (ISTD) examination this February. Not only is she highly dedicated but is also remarkably passionate and enthusiastic. Mihira loves being a part of the studio work and thoroughly wallows in training younger kids. Her lively and humorous attitude makes her a favourite in class.
Mihira was in LDAB’s Nutcracker 2019 in the Russian Dance Trepak
Mihira, who is in 5th grade at St. Mary’s, follows numerous ballet performers and is fond of watching recital videos on YouTube. She was also a part of the LDAB concerts – Once Upon a Time (2017) and The Nutcracker (2019). Other than ballet, Mihira takes great interest in sports and plays hockey as well as likes basketball and football.
Mihira loves being in the Studio, helping with younger students and assisting Ms Neha duirng International Examinations
As she mentions in her song, Mihira is determined to overcome the downs and swing higher towards fulfilling her dreams. When asked about her ballet goals, Mihira mentioned that she would love to pursue ballet as a career and sees herself as a stage artist, performing on tours. We wish Mihira great success in her future endeavours.
The heavy rains don’t seem to stop anytime soon in the month of October, but so do the young ballerinas! In spite of the weather being difficult, it cannot dwindle a ballerina’s passion and dedication. So with this urge and perseverance (which is seen in the young ballerina’s performances) they wake up early in the morning in this dull weather and do what their heart desires the most.
This can be seen in Miraya Jogewar, the young ballerina of LDAB who is the ‘Ballerina of the month for October 2019’
Miraya Jogewar, 10 years old, has been a part of LDAB for 7 months now, and at a very early stage, she has succeeded in achieving this incredible title. Miraya, daughter of Pallavi and Pallav Jogewar is studying in VKE- Victorious Kidss Educares and is in 4th grade.
We were eager to know more about this talented young ballerina, and so we had a friendly chat with an important person who played a major role in grooming Miraya – Her mother. When asked about Miraya’s personality, Mrs Jogewar tells us, “Miraya is a very bubbly girl. She loves dancing and not just ballet. She is fond of various other dance forms such as…??.” The next thing that Mrs. Jogewar tells me makes me admire the little ballerina even more. “She was only a 3 year old when she expressed her desire to be a ballerina. Her relation with ballet is now as old as 7 years. Amongst all the dance forms she has learnt, nothing has motivated her and shaped her personality as ballet.”
We asked Mrs Jogewar what inspired her daughter to choose ballet and whether this is what she wanted to do all along. Mrs. Jogewar recollects very fondly, “She used to watch a Disney show called “Ballerinas” and that’s when Miraya decided she wanted to try this dance form. We lived in Singapore then. I looked for a ballet class and we opted for the one that seemed professional and closer to my house.” Her mother tells us that she had participated in two big events with her previous ballet school – The Nutcracker Concert and a spring showcase. “She was very happy to do these shows, especially with great dancers who motivated her by the way they were dancing.”
With Les Danseuses Academy of Ballet Miraya also got an opportunity to perform in the 2019 production of The Nutcracker. She played The Mice King – A major role which involved a battle scene enacted in dance form. She was thrilled to bag this role and gave her best in her practices, and eventually her performance.
She was very motivated by Ms Parand’s performance in the Nutcracker. Ms Parand has not only been teaching Miraya for the last 7 months at LDAB, but has also played a major role in shaping Miraya’s technique and inspiring her to be a beautiful dancer.
Ballet is a dance form of grace, confidence, and the right posture. It’s impactful, and so we asked the young talented ballerina’s mother about how ballet has shaped Miraya’s personality. “Since she started doing ballet with Miss. Neha, I have seen certain changes in her. They tell the kids to do a few exercises like stretching when they are waking up or when they are in bed at night. She tries to follow that, and that is certainly a very positive habit that she is getting into. She seems more focused on her health now, and that is purely because she wants her ballet technique to improve.”
Parenting has never been easy, but for Mrs. Jogewar, it has never been a problem. Like most kids who have trouble waking up early for an early class, the young ballerina was always motivated enough to not be boggled down by laziness.
Another inspiration in Miraya’s ballet journey is Ms Neha. This is what she had to share about our Artistic Director – “Oh! She is a wonderful dancer, actually, she is a wonderful teacher. She makes kids fall in love with ballet with her attitude, grace, and confidence. We love to attend classes when she is teaching. She makes sure that we learn the correct technique and stay focused in classes but at the same time, she ensures that she isn’t strict.”
Ms Neha also shares her thoughts about the Ballerina of the Month. “When Miraya joined us, I noticed immediately how talented she was, and how dedicated she was towards this dance form. One of the challenges we face in class is to get the students to focus and take it seriously. This is a dance form that requires a lot of effort and hard work, and Miraya is not shy of investing whatever it takes to be good at it! In a very short span of time Miraya picked up the syllabus, the technical detailing and corrections. I know that she goes home and works on the corrections we give her during classes. That speaks volumes about a student. As a teacher we are also then motivated to work with a student who goes beyond what is expected! I was very confident of my choice of making her the Mice King in the Nutcracker. She came for every practice and gave a fabulous performance last July. The scene where the Mice King is defeated needed quite a bit of acting, and Miraya displayed a level of confidence and grace that was outstanding!
We all want to know what the mother of the star student, thinks when it comes to her child becoming the ‘Ballerina of the month’ “I was thrilled and very happy! I didn’t expect that she would be chosen as the ballerina of the month as she has just joined the academy. I am honestly very proud of her.”
She ends this interview by saying kind words towards her favourite teacher. “Neha ma’am is a very kind teacher, and she encourages me to do ballet.” She definitely sees herself doing ballet for a long time. We wish Miraya great success and lots of dancing in her future!
The rains this year have decided to play hide and seek with us. Some days, they’ve lashed the city with all their might and on others, it feels like a sunny afternoon in the month of May. However, we here at LDAB, pride ourselves in our punctuality and are exhilarated to set the spotlight of one of our star students who has been crowned ”Ballerina of the Month: July 2019”
Saanvi with her brother and her parents
Saanvi Desai, 9, has been with LDAB for almost a year and half now. A student of the prestigious St. Mary’s, Saanvi is the younger child of Mrunal and Milind Desai. Mrunal is a jewelry designer and owns her own label, Maanvi Jewels. Milind is a software engineer and works at Tech Mahindra. Her older brother, Pratham, is a 15-year old studying at Bishop’s School in Pune.
Saanvi is very fond of dancing. In addition to ballet, she is pursuing Kathak
When quizzed about how Saanvi got involved with ballet, Mrunal excitedly talks about her daughter’s love for dance, ”Saanvi has always been a dancer. She excels at Bollywood contemporary. She has also studied Kathak. She recently received her Level 1 Certificate in this classical dance form. One of her good friends was learning ballet at LDAB and her curiosity for this western dance form got her started with LDAB.”
Saanvi’s has a variety of other interests beyond dance. She’s a voracious reader, Harry Potter is her favourite book series while Enid Blyton is her favourite author. She has also started training to become a serious badminton player. She’ll be playing next month at Deccan Gymkhana’s tournaments.
Saanvi after her breath-taking performance in the Nutcracker 2019
We chat more with Mrunal about Saanvi and she lights up like a proud parent while talking about her daughter, “Saanvi has the personality of an extrovert. She can strike up a conversation with you on any topic and keep you engrossed throughout. She never had any stage fright and that was very evident when she performed with grace & enthusiasm in the Annual functions at school and also in our housing society. When I saw her perform in the Nutcracker ballet concert arranged by LDAB, I was mesmerized by the whole act. Watching her perform that day on stage, while I sat in the audience with many of my relatives, will remain a proud moment for me.”
Saanvi in class.
But she also has a funny tid-bit to add, ”Saanvi is a very meticulous person. She won’t miss a single ballet session at LDAB. This leaves us as a family with no scope to plan weekend outings or vacations at all.”
Saanvi with her mom Mrunal
As always, we are also interested in the parenting philosophies of the parents of our star ballerinas. Giving her take, Mrunal says, “Parenting is a process where I’m always on my toes, still learning. I’m a mom to a 15 year-old teen boy and also to a pre-teen girl. Bringing them up have been two very contrasting experiences and I wouldn’t really call myself an expert, I’m still a student and I like it this way!”
Our Creative Director, Neha Suhjani, has solid observations on her pupil, ‘Saanvi is sharp and her performances are always graceful. She is someone who takes any challenge head on. She is relentless and rests only when she’s mastered the choreography. I am really happy that she has been chosen to perform at the CSTD concert in Singapore in September 2019. She is going to be performing a solo variation from Esmerelda. The choreography is amongst the toughest, but this has unsurprisingly been a motivating factor for Saanvi, given her quest for perfection.”
The rains finally arrived, albeit later than usual, this month, providing the much-needed relief from the scorching temperatures that our city witnessed. Pune recorded the hottest day in 52 years at a whopping 43 degrees on April 28, 2019. But nothing really, even these hot summers, has been able to stop our young, dedicated and sincere ballerinas from their rigorous prep for the highly anticipated Nutcracker concert taking place on Sunday, 7th of July 2019.
Keeping our traditions alive, after our short hiatus, we’re back at turning on the spotlights on the best of our students with the Ballerina of the Month series. We’re exhilarated to crown AaratrikaWahi as the Ballerina of the Month for June 2019.
A 6th grader at Vibgyor High School-NIBM, 11-year-old Aaratrika (aka Misha fondly), is the only child of Rishi Wahi, a startup entrepreneur and Aditi Wahi, a former Sr. Manager at Infosys. Aaratrika will be playing the much-coveted role of the Nutcracker Prince, who leads the battle against the fierce Mice King and his army.
When asked about how her daughter started with ballet and LDAB, Aditi recalls,
“It was the classic influence of her friends, who were already learning ballet at LDAB that got Aaratrika initially interested. She had her first class in August 2018 and since then there has been no looking back!”
Aaratrika is quite a diverse young person when it comes to her interests and hobbies. She’s always had a soft spot for all things art and craft. She’s also a singer, with pop-singer Taylor Swift’s music having a huge influence on her. She’s also a budding sportsperson. She plays basketball for her school team.
Aditi describes Aaratrika as someone’s who’s shy and a tad bit moody at times. On one hand, she happily sings in school recitals and dances to contemporary Hindi music tunes at school & at their housing society programmes, but then she will also act all coy when asked to do the same before her relatives at family gatherings. We can’t really fault her on this though! It’s the same story in every home, isn’t it?
We enquire about how the Wahis are getting up to speed on Ballet as a dance form and her dad Rishi tells us, “We weren’t really aware or educated about ballet as a dance form until last year. Aaratrika’s foray into this world has been educational for all of us and this really has been a journey. As a parent, I’m glad to see her be so enthusiastic and engaged with something that she really cares about.
Another important trait that her mother talks about,
She just needs to be nudged in the right direction and then she’s all set to perform wonderfully!
That nudge has certainly come in the form of our Nutcracker concert, where Neha, our creative director, chose Aaratrika to play the lead role of the Nutcracker Prince.
Providing the rationale for her selection, Neha speaks highly of Aaratrika,
She has been a very dedicated and focused student. Her dedication is complementary to the fact she has natural grace & a strong acumen when it comes to picking up choreography fast. This role required someone who possessed all these characteristics and someone who could put up with a very demanding rehearsal time schedule. And I must admit she has managed all of this beautifully. She’s also been really helpful with guiding 5-year old ballerinas who are soldiers in the play. I’m very satisfied with my choice and I’m sure that she’ll set the stage on fire with her portrayal this week.
