Lei Muzi Chinese Bharatnayam dancer scripts history-performs ‘Arangetram’ in China
Lei Muzi Chinese Bharatnayam dancer scripts history-performs ‘Arangetram’ in China
Bharatnatyam is an ancient Indian dance form performed predominately by South Indian dancers, but later even North Indians excelled in it.
Now it comes as a surprise a China based 13 year old school student, Lei Muzi, performed her first ever Arangetram on Sunday (August 11) in front of the celebrated Bharatanatyam dancer Leela Samson, Indian diplomats and a large audience of Chinese fans and scripted history.
Bharatanatyam “Arangetram” is a milestone in the journey of the ancient Indian dance form that is garnering popularity in the neighbouring country, China.
For ardent Chinese fans of Indian classical art and dance forms who devoted their lives to learning and performing them for decades, her debut was a moment of history and a landmark 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 apart from the audience.
Only after Arangetram are the students allowed to perform on their own or train aspiring dancers.
As per S Vivekanand, the First Secretary of the Indian Embassy in charge of culture who attended the event, this is the first-ever Arangetram by a student fully trained in China and performed in China and it
was a properly done Arangetram in a very traditional manner.
“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.
Lei was trained in Bharatnatyam by noted Chinese Bharatanatyam dancer Jin Shan Shan.
Shruti Rawat, the wife of Indian Ambassador Pradeep Rawat, was the chief guest at the Arangetram.
The event also saw the attendance by a large crowd of fans who cheered her over the two-hour-long performance amidst which she danced to several classical numbers.
Apart from.Leela Sampson, a team of musicians who were flown in from Chennai sang the classical numbers for Lei to perform. She is due to perform in Chennai later this month.
Lei was trained for over 10 years at the Bharatanatyam school run by Jin, who herself was the first accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer to have held her Arangetram in 1999 in New Delhi.
Jin was one of the numerous Chinese students who were trained by eminent Chinese dancer Zhang Jun.
Lei’s Bharatnatyam journey
Lei, also known as Dudu, says she fell in love with Bharatanatyam since she joined Jin’s school in 2014.
She completely fell in love with it and kept dancing till now. For Lei, Bharatanatyam is not only a beautiful art and dance form but also the embodiment of Indian culture.
She added further that this fascinates her greatly, as well as the gorgeous and graceful movements amidst a dance item. Overall, extremely loves Bharatanatyam and for her, it is already a daily activity to do, as she is truly interested in the culture of India.
Jin, widely recognised in China and India has held numerous performances, and feels proud to see one of her students complete her Arangetram.
She further went on to quote that Bharatanatyam has brought them close together. For ten years, Lei has been visiting her home every weekend to attend classes, which not only let her witness her growth but also made them family.
Adding further that it reminds her of how her Guru, Leela Samson, taught her when she did her Arangetram.
News Edit K.V.Raman
