Dancing with a purpose

School teaches traditional art

By: Lacey Korevec
   "Wither the hand goes, the eyes go: the mind goes: the feeling is aroused and when the feeling is aroused, the taste arises."
   Kendall Park resident Sudha Devulapalli often repeats this famous Sanskrit saying to her dance students to remind them that they are not truly dancing unless they’re focused and their souls are fully connected with the movement.
   "I always tell them," she said. "I say, ‘If your eyes don’t follow the hands, then there is no point. When your eyes are following, then the focus comes. Then it doesn’t look mechanical.’"
   Ten years ago, Ms. Devulapalli began teaching Bharatanatyam, a 300-year-old form of Indian classical dance, to a few local children in her basement. Today, she passes the traditional form on to about 120 students in classes held Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at the Six Mile Run Reform Church on Route 27 in Franklin Park, where she rents space. Her school is called Kilanjali School of Dance and, one day, she hopes to have her own studio.
   "I got my degree in computer science and I was supposed to start as a programming analyst, but my passion was always in something artistic and creative," she said. "I had tremendous support form my husband, so I said, ‘You know what, I want to share this art that my parents have taught me to the children living here.’ And then I started teaching maybe like three or four kids in my basement. Eventually, it started growing and gaining popularity and soon the basement was not enough."
   Ms. Devulapalli, who grew up in India, is now one of a rising number of Bharatanatyam teachers in the area, handing down the art form which developed in the region of southern India and uses rhythm, expression, hand gestures, melody and miming to tell stories about Hindu gods and Indian culture.
   "In our Indian classical dance, every item that they do is unique to some mythology, some story," she said. "There’s a lot of drama and mime involved."
   The form, which is major aspect of culture in India, is gaining more popularity in the United States and is particularly growing in South Brunswick, she said.
   "There’s a big Indian population here, especially in the Brunswick area," she said. "I’m sure in this Brunswick area, we should be having easily, from Edison to Princeton, maybe about 100 to 200 schools and every school is running very successfully."
   Most of her students are between the ages of 7 and 18 and are at several different stages. Eight students have graduated from the school so far after completing eight years of study. Ms. Devulapalli said she also teaches some of the students’ mothers.
   "A few active moms who are in their mid-20s and 30s also learn," she said, adding that involved parents and dedicated graduates help the school, which she otherwise runs single-handedly, by organizing events and helping with costumes and transportation.
   The school performs about once a month at different charity events in the community to help organizations raise money for important causes, she said. Her students will be dancing in April at an event to raise money for March of Dimes and at Crossroads South Middle School on Nov. 18 to raise money for the South Brunswick Public Library. The school also used dance to help raise money after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the 2004 tsunami.
   "If charitable institutions need to raise funds, then Kilanjali is more than willing to support," she said.
   Each year the school performs a recital that is open to parents, as well as community members. This year it will be held Dec. 16 at Crossroads South Middle School. Though the recital is the school’s biggest performance of the year and takes the most preparation, a lot goes into every performance, she said. Dancers’ costumes, makeup and jewelry are elaborate, and it sometimes can take up to two hours for each performer to get dressed for a show.
   "Our school’s motto is: Dance for a purpose," she said. "Use your dance purposefully. Learn this art so that it may serve you for a purpose, so that you can perform at these charity events and spread this art and not just have fun. That’s why I’m very open to charitable institutions. This is my way of serving the community and giving back to it."
   Aside from opening her own studio, Ms. Devulapalli, also dreams of teaching Bharatanatyam to more students of different cultures, so that the art form can gain more recognition outside of the Indian community. She also hopes to see more male dancers enroll in classes.
   "Appreciation from another community is so valuable for me," she said. "I feel like I am spreading this art form."
   The Kilanjali School of Dance has received recognition from the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, she said. Students also have had had great success competing in classical Indian dance competitions in the region. Ms. Devulapalli herself has been given awards from organizations in India for her work with the school, including the Vamsee International Award. She also is often invited to judge Indian dance competitions at colleges throughout the United States.
   "So far so good," she said. "I’m in the running for 10 years and I hope I can still continue for another 10 to 15 years.
   "It is so educational, so enriching in our traditions and stories and very enchanting. It teaches a lot of our traditions and customs and it covers a very wide range of subjects. That’s why it’s so popular."
   Those interested in taking classes and organizations with a genuine need for help with fundraising should contact the school at (732) 398-0849.