TALENT

Foundation dance school, Odisha. Sam, who lives in Melbourne, offered to host them till they could return and his partner Zlatko Varenina suggested the idea of taking their show online.

With the support of multiple technologies, they started Prarthna, a series of live-streamed short performances to wish for peace in the world. A GoFundMe page has also been created to seek donations for the stranded artists and help with their visa extensions, medical tests, travel tickets and other expenses (www.samgoraya.com).

According to Sam they rehearse from 10.30 am to 2.30 pm and again from 6 pm to 10 pm everyday, to bring the synchronised Odissi repertoire to their online audience. The 30-minute performance is conducted in full costume and makeup in front of a simple yet effective backdrop in Sam’s living room.

“I have never worked so hard on my performances before,” Sam told Indian Link.

“Initially we thought it was just a few of our friends and families watching, but soon we realised that people around the globe are connecting and enjoying the dances,based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback we receive,” he shared happily.

Sam, who has three decades of stage experience, confessed that he never imagined how quickly and effectively he could spread his art through the internet. This will be the way

forward, he feels.

Darshan Pawar is similarly excited about future online options, especially after a recent success. “In a major event, we’ve just collaborated with Sony Music India and our dance schools in Australia, UK and Canada. In this exercise we taught a dance routine to the hit song Genda Phool by Indian rapper Badshah.” He mused, “We would love to reach out to various dance communities across the globe for more such special collaborations.”

With tours cancelled and rehearsal studios closed, this happy-at-home movement has been successful in many ways: digital dance making may become an artistic genre in itself.