Dance into the Future
ANTARA ASHRA, 29
Performing Artist; Entrepreneur, Founder, Future
School of Performing Arts, Mumbai
W
ORKING WITH STUDENTS AT a school in Mumbai’s Lalbaug where
she spent two years as part of the Teach for India programme,
Antara discovered scores of young people who were passionate
about western dance but had no opportunities to pursue a formal
education in it. So she set up the Future School of Performing Arts
in Mumbai in 2016. For the year-long course in western dance that teaches
students the history of various dance forms, anatomy, visual setting, personal
transformation and ent repreneurship, Antara worked with professionals from
the field to draw up a curriculum. “Performing arts isn’t a conventional course
but it requires the same talent, hard work and dedication as any other field,”
says Antara, who studied at the United World College, Singapore, and the
UniversityofToronto,Canada.(^) Fresh Approach The growing interest among students to study dance
has prompted her to introduce a three-year intensive programme this year,
which will train students to be teachers, performers and entrepreneurs in
the field of dance. Professionals from the city and a professor of dance from
New York have helped design the programme which is set to open for
admissionssoon.
(^) Stand Out It is not easy convincing parents to let their children study
dance instead of a conventional college degree.
Where Certificate courses at Indian School of Talent, Dehradun —AditiPai
DANESH JASSAWALA