188. Clarissa an Emerginc Talent.

Clarissa Fernandes, 13-year old girl, daugther of  Dinesh & Cynthia Fernandes Abu-Dabhi, the young teen all set to perform an Arangetram on 31. January 2014, at Indian Social Centre Abu Dhabi at 6.00 pm. A rare talent she is along with Madhav Menon, Riya.R, Preethi.J, Gayathri.S, Naima.N, Srinidhi.J entering the stage to perform after the years of dedication, commitment and determination.  Need they say how grateful they are to their guru Smt. Asha Nair an icon of perfection, hard work, motivating and inspiring force and energy.

For those not familiar with the term ‘Arangetram’ a little description: It is the name given within the South Indian dance tradition Bharatnatayam to a dancer’s debut on-stage performance of classical dance. The term is derived from two Tamil words: Arangam and Erru, which together mean ‘to ascend the stage’. The Kannada word of it is ‘Rangapravesha’.  It refers to to the graduation ceremony where the Guru presents his or her Shishya (pupil) to the public. One can say that it is the culmination of many years of learning dance and marks the beginning of a dancer’s life, where one crosses the threshold from student to professional artist. As a first milestone in one’s journey as dancer, in Arangetram, he or she would depict Indian culture and traditions in rhythmic dance form and art.

A hard-earning achievement of Clarissa is a proud moment for Konkani speaking Mangaloreans. Ours is a society where children are fond of Western dance and parents are reluctant to encourage their children to venture into Indian classical dance.  But for parents of Clarissa, Dinesh and Cynthia who are in Abu Dhabi it is a different cup of tea.  They never hesitated to plunge their child into classical dance right from her childhood and were very supportive in her years of training, hours of practice, hard work and dedication. It’s an amazing moment of satisfaction for them as they bask in their daughter’s successful accomplishment.  For Clarissa music, painting, art and public speaking too are strong words.  As an emerging talent she looks forward to imbibing fresh ideas and exploring new platforms to perform big.