In today’s episode, Rajan stays in London to meet renowned ballet dancer and model Pia Sutaria. Having devoted her life to the arts for almost 20 years and breaking the mould by pursuing western dance forms, Pia has now danced all over the world and has recently set up a vocational dance program for children in India.
Today’s conversation is a pirouette of desire, determination and true-calling as well as a reflection upon how performing artists, although making waves in India, rarely get the credit they deserve.
What dance forms have your pursued? Share your comments below.
Pia Sutaria, a graduate of the Professional Dancer’s Teaching Diploma at the Royal Academy of Dance, London, has performed all over the world with India’s premier Dance Theatre Company “Navdhara” (USA, Turkey, Israel, Canada, Japan). She has performed as a soloist at the National Centre for Performing Arts and Royal Opera House in Mumbai and has represented brands like Dove, Jockey, Puma and Nike as a ballerina in India. She was recently awarded a Disney Scholarship to pursue her MA: Musical Theatre Performance at the Royal Academy of Music, London. She is currently the resident Ballet teacher at Shiamak Davar’s Institute.
During her study at the RAD, Pia realised the deep void that existed in vocational training for young dancers in India. As a result, Pia’s vision is to make vocational training in dance accessible to young artists. Moreover, to make Ballet, an otherwise elitist art form, to be
within the grasp of anyone who wants to pursue it.
In 2018, Pia founded the “Institute of Classical and Modern Dance” with a focus on preparing and mentoring ICMD’s vocational students to pursue a higher education in dance and performing arts internationally, her school has successfully sent students on scholarships to top performing arts institutions in Paris, New York and London.
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