By Martin D’Souza | Opening Doorz Editorial | September 29, 2020

Aishwarya Vinu Nair is just 16 years old and the dances she performs aggregate the grace and poise of a Classical Dancer who has been at it for decades! Watching her dance, be it Bharathanatyam, Kuchipudi, Mohiniyattam, Folk Dance, Bollywood or even Western Dance is watching poetry in motion.

The eyes, the smile, the moves, the rhythm all draw you to her performance and hold you in thrall. Remember Jennifer Beals dancing to Irene Cara’s What a Feelin’ (Flash dance, 1983)? Something like that and more is what you experience when you watch the teenager in full flow.

Opening Doorz captures the Grade XI student from Dubai Scholars Private School, Dubai, in her various dance avatars.

Bharathanatyam

Kuchipudi

Mohiniyattam

Dancing from an early age

“I have been learning dance since the age of six. From a very young age I have been training in Bharathanatyam. At age 12, I started learning Kuchipudi and Mohinayattam.”

Why all dance forms

“My passion towards dance and Indian culture made me eager to learn different forms of Indian classical dance. Most of the classical dance forms have a few similarities, which makes it easier to learn.”

The practice sessions

“I try to practice at least an hour every day. Dance is also a good form of exercise and helps me keep fit. I have dance classes three times a week and apart from that I have also been able to attend a lot of online dance workshops.”

The Karate kid

“I take pride in the fact that I also hold a Black Belt in Karate. I have won several gold medals in Karate Championships for kata and kumite at the UAE Open National Championships.”

  • Ultimate solo dance winner at India’s International Groovefest 2018 (judged by renowned dancer Sudha Chandran and Melvin Louis). This competition was held in Dubai.
  • Gold Medal at India’s International Groovefest,Thailand (2018). Performed Indian Classical Dance form, Kuchipudi.
  • Group Winner in Senior Category in UAE Open Youth Festival held in Abu Dhabi (January 2019). Performed  Bharathanatyam, Kuchipudi, Mohiniyattam and Folk Dance.
  • Kalathilakam (meaning, overall champion aggregating the highest score in the entire competition) in the Junior Category and Top scorer of Santhwanam UAE Open Youth Festval-2017.
  • Kalathilakam in Junior Category and Top scorer of Geepas Asianet UAE Open Youth Festival 2018, held in Dubai. Performed all Indian dance forms apart from Bollywood and Western.
  • Won several prizes for Classical Dance competitions in Bharathanatyam, Kuchipudi and Folk Dance in Cultural competitions held in Thripunithura, Kerala, in 2018 and 2019.

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Pic Courtesy: @aishwarya.1502

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