Indian School Al Ghubra ex-student wins dance contest in US

Muscat: A former student of Indian School Al Ghubra has won a prestigious dance competition in the United States.
Sreevidhya Vijayan, who attended school and college in Muscat, won the ‘Natya Idol Champion 2016’ at the 8th America Natya Festival in St. Louis, Missouri.
“Forty-five participants from across the United States, and even from India, took part in the competition, and it was judged by 12 judges. I still can’t believe that I won,” Sreevidhya said.
“It was an honour to take part in such a prestigious competition, and to win it is even more special,” said Sreevidhya, who was also honoured with the Guru Shri Adyar K Lakshman memorial prize.
The competition is sponsored by Soorya Performing Arts. “I performed Mohiniyattam, and my other competitors performed Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi, Odissi and Kathak,” she said.
Sreevidhya has also had the opportunity to perform in the Nritya Vaibhava dance festival in Bangalore, sponsored by Shathala Arts Trust.
She will also dance in the upcoming Soorya performing series.
Sreevidhya, who began studying dance at the age of four, won several prizes in various competitions held in Muscat.
“Being initiated into dance at such an early age allowed me to immerse myself in it completely, and it simply became my identity,” she said. At the age of 18, Sreevidhya became part of the Soorya festival in Muscat. Sreevidhya’s immaculate and graceful movements and her subtle, yet communicative, expressions have won the admiration of laymen and connoisseurs alike.
During the past seven years, her passion for dance has enriched the lives of many students by teaching Bharata Natyam and Mohiniyattam. “Youngsters today must concentrate on learning dance in its purest form first, and not hurry in fusing it with other martial arts movements. It is important to learn from a guru with good credibility and experience in performing,” she noted.
Sreevidhya, who is now settled in Chicago with her husband, hopes to keep the tradition of dance alive. “Traditional art forms have the power to educate people. It all depends on the way it is presented. With time, we have to progress in our dance forms. I try to stick to the roots and be innovative in different ways to convey a message to the audience,” she said. “I would like to thank my parents, husband and my sister for being my pillars of strength in this journey,” she added.