· 

A discussion with a dancer and choreographer, Mr. Natraj.

Guest lecture 1

This is a kickoff for the ESL project series to apply the language skills in real life. A discussion with an expert can widen the perspectives and also offer a fresh and profound look into their field. It can also be a glimpse into the advantages and challenges if that field is in the scope as a  career option for the students. We are learning how to frame questions, how to prompt the discussion further, to take notes, and to use the content wisely on social media platforms.

Here’s the condensed version of the interview to understand how dance can contribute to holistic development.

Natraj, a passionate dancer and choreographer who adores dancing and anything related to dance.

He teaches kids and adults.

He realized his potential as a dancer when he was a child and hasn’t stopped since. His dream was to choreograph for movies, but the dream evolved and matured to take the shape of a professional dancer. Lucky us! His talent isn’t cooped up in the world of movies.

Dance is his passion, life, and beyond, and his deep passion reflects in his choreographies.

Delving further into his passion, Natraj mentioned that he was an average student in school and dance opened the world to him. He learnt English from its rudiments to facilitate teaching. He learnt socialization, and life as a whole through dance. He was inspired by Michael Jackson and started dancing before he realized what his passion translated to. Out of sheer modesty, he mentioned that he can emulate Michael Jackson’s moves, but cannot dance like him because the King of Pop is incomparable. Natraj can dance almost 15 forms of dance and wants to learn much more. He believes in continuous learning. Reading books to ameliorate knowledge on various profound topics is another hobby of his. He choreographs dance-dramas with a message, specifically the ones that talk about environmental issues and women empowerment.

Natraj’s dream is to host a dance festival in India with world famous dancers and choreographers and to travel around the world to learn more rhythms of dance. For instance, Natraj would like to go to Cuba to deepen his knowledge of the Latino culture and Cuban  Salsa. He wants to spread the knowledge of various rhythms from around the world to sow and nurture world dance champions in India. He encourages people who don't like dancing to try it in order to overcome their fear, feel happiness, and to improve their confidence & co-ordination. He wants to pass on all that he gained in life through dance to everyone around him. Natraj enhances all his emotions through dance, be it to enjoy happiness or to overcome sadness or to combat fear.

In crux, he mentioned that dance is the culmination of mind, body, creativity, and emotions. He encourages everyone to try dancing to experience any emotion at its fullest. Natraj iterates the importance of musicality for dance. 

We had a very energetic and interactive session with him followed by a demo session. He succeeded in getting all the hesitant participants out of their seats to move to the beats of “You rock my world” by Michael Jackson. We hope for another meeting with him because he’s really kind with contagious energy. We were mesmerized by his unwavering passion for dance.


Natraj’s favorite quote, “I keep on dancing..dancing..and dancing, because there’s only dance!”


A zoom meeting ziplocked with zeal.

Participants: CM1: Salomée, Victor, Sohan, Ayankaran

                      CM2: David

                      6ème: Nitin, Baptiste

                      4ème: Noémie, Samuel, Mathis

                      3ème: Juline

            Teachers: Anita Rajagopalan, Marion Vercraene

                      Guest lecturer: Natraj

For further information on Mr. Natraj,

Instagram: @natrajdancechoreographer 

Website:     http://www.natrajdancechoreographer.in/

                    https://danceextreme.in/