Ms Cerys Ong almost went into the Odissi performance blind.
The dancer, who trains at Chowk Productions, an Indian dance school in Aliwal Street, learnt she was going to perform before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi only a few hours before she stepped onto the outdoor stage on Sept 4.
“We were asked to do a dance by the High Commission of India (HCI) just a few days before,” said Ms Raka Maitra, artistic director at Chowk. “They just told us that an Indian minister was coming to Singapore. They didn’t even tell us the venue until the last minute.”
As most of its leading dancers were busy, Ms Raka sent those who were available – Singaporeans Ms Ong, Ms Elizabeth Tan and Ms Wong Yong En – who all train at Chowk.
“It was just a few minutes of an Odissi set-piece – Mangala Charan – that we performed,” said Ms Ong. “It was the first set-piece I ever learnt. But it takes years to get into your body. You make it yours after learning it for many years.
“Mr Modi watched our performance and was very happy. He asked us why we learn this traditional Indian dance form and who our guru is. We were thrilled that he spoke to us.”
Mr Modi was in Singapore on a two-day official visit and the HCI lined up two events to welcome him – including a dhol (drum) performance by the Maharashtra Mandal Singapore team – at Shangri-La Hotel.
“There were around 200 people from the Indian diaspora there to greet Mr Modi and I was amazed by the way they adored their leader,” said Ms Ong, 29, a theatre practitioner who also teaches acting.
“The way they cheered and praised him, it was an eye-opener. It was quite ethereal and fascinating.”
Ms Ong said she never thought she would get to perform before a leader of Mr Modi’s stature. So she did not really prepare for the occasion.
“I never followed him as a leader, so I was not sure what he was like,” she said. “But I was not apprehensive or overwhelmed. I simply stood in awe of what was going on.”
She also appreciated Mr Modi’s showmanship when he asked for a dhol and beat it in rhythmic fashion.
“It was a brilliant act,” said Ms Ong. “He seized the moment and people appreciated his effort. That is why he is such a charismatic leader.”
Odissi is an ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state in India – and is a dance-drama genre of performance art where the artistes and musicians play out a story, spiritual message or devotional poem from the Hindu texts using symbolic costumes, body movement, abhinaya (expressions) and mudras (gestures and sign language) set out in ancient Sanskrit literature.
Ms Ong has been learning Odissi at Chowk for nine years. She and Ms Tan are theatre practitioners who use the dance for strengthening and flexibility, while Ms Wong is an opera singer and an associate artiste at Chowk.
“At Chowk, we train our students in classical Odissi and then we use the form to create experimental work,” said Ms Raka, who in 2007 began teaching Odissi to a handful of expat and local students.
Ms Ong fell in love with Odissi when she was studying at the Intercultural Theatre Institute at Emily Hill in Rochor.
“Chowk was next to our school and we used to do programme exchanges and workshops,” she said. “It’s Asian curriculum grew on me, I joined it, and the rest is history.”
She said she loves to train at Chowk “because there are no barriers even though I am not Indian”.
“It’s a special place to me because everyone starts on the same page and grow together.”
