International Dance Day today
When the young kids are easily seen inclined towards the Bollywood dance and western dance forms, there is a girl in the city who is professionally eyeing to pursue a career in Indian Classical Dance form, Bharatanatyam.
Kamakshi Hampiholi, a 16 year-old student of NEERI Modern School, recently appeared for her tenth standard board examinations. However, it was dance that eased out her tension.
Kamakshi gave her first performance when she was just 2 years old. However, she began her formal training in Bharatnatyam at the age of six under the tutelage of her parents Dr Kishoree and Kishor Hampiholi in proper guru shishya parampara.
Kamakshi received Government of India’s CCRT scholarship at the age of ten in 2013. Since then her scholarship has been renewed twice, which is awarded till the completion of graduation.
Kamakshi has seen and felt dance since she was a kid, thanks to her parents who are so rich in the art form themselves. Her parents are the celebrated senior artistes of the city and have won numerous awards and recognition in the city.
Kamakshi has performed at Kalakshetra University in Chennai, which is still dream for many aspiring professional dancers. She has also performed at Gana Mukunda Priya in Chennai. Along with
these esteemed performances, Kamakshi was awarded special prize for her outstanding performance at Bal Kala Utsav competition in Delhi. Kamakshi was also feted with Kanakanjali award at National Children Dance Festival organised in Kolkata.
Her recent accomplishments include, a solo inaugural performance at Atulya Bharat organised by South Central Zone Cultural Center, SCZCC. Apart from her success at various national events,
Kamakshi has won numerous inter-school also, keeping with the consent of her parents Kamakshi performed her Arangetram in the year 2017.
Kamakshi is also learning, Carnatic music from singer Rajashree Neelkantha and will go for advanced training in singing from eminent singer Shweta Prasad from Hyderabad.
Apart from her parents, Kamakshi also receives frequent guidance from senior Bharatnatyam artiste, Roja Kannan from Chennai, and has also performed on certain occasions with her group.
Kamakshi also loves sports and can be found taking interest in Basket Ball when she is not dancing.
She is now all grown-up and performs with her mother as well. She also gave a performance at Vasantrao Deshpande Smruti Samaroh along with her mother Dr Kishoree Hampiholi.
She takes special interest in helping her mother with the compositions and can be seeing sitting in a corner composing Jathis and Ardhis for dances no less than Varnams in her free time. She loves bringing something new to the choreography and hence perfectly blends modern ideas with traditional choreography.
Understanding the burden on her parents, Kamakshi also helps them with the dance classes and can be found teaching the newly admitted students along with the
seniors in the dance classes, Kishor Nritya Niketan in Hanuman Nagar. The classes also have a branch in NEERI Modern School and the dancing couple also have opened a class in Pune. The love for art and her dedication for practice cannot be seen even in the young generation of dancers.