Freshmen compete in international dance competition

Traveling to Spain in the middle of the school year, meeting kids from over 20 different countries and representing the United States in an international dance competition—three unique opportunities that two freshmen were able to take part in this spring.

Freshman Mounika Narayanan and Meghna Chakraborty experienced all this and more when they attended the Barcelona Dance Grand Prix international competition on April 5 to 8, held in the Teatre de Coliseum in Catalunya, Spain.

    Thirty-five dance groups from 21 countries, including Russia, Spain, Albania, Greece, Belgium, Singapore, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Italy and more, competed over the span of four days. The competitors danced many different genres such as ballet, jazz, hip-hop, various folk styles and more.

    Narayanan and Chakraborty were two of the 13 Bay Area dancers representing the Shri Kupra Dance Company (SKDC), the only dance group representing the United States at the competition. Narayanan and Chakraborty dance a type of Indian classical dance called Bharatanatyam.

    After training about nine hours a week for roughly four months, the SKDC took home three awards from the competition: Best Classical Fusion Choreography, Best Folk Customs and the Grand Catalunya/Catalonia Province Mayor Award for Best Dance Group.

    With three hectic days of competition and just one day off, Narayanan and Chakraborty said the experience was “amazing and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” according to Chakraborty.

    The days of competition were long and hectic for everyone involved.

“A typical day would include waking up early, going down for breakfast in the hotel, showering, and then beginning the process of getting ready in our elaborate costumes and makeup,” Chakraborty said.

    The dancers then headed off to compete at the Teatre de Coliseum.

“The stage was the biggest stage I had ever performed on, with the biggest audience, and it was quite nerve-racking the first time,” Chakraborty said. “But we gave each other support and pulled it off.”

Through the course of the competition, Chakraborty and Narayanan met dancers from all over the world.

“Our unique costume and dance … made us really popular, and we got to talk to so many people,” Narayanan said. “So when the other groups were dancing we cheered really loudly for them, and in return they all cheered for us.”

Despite the language barrier, the dancers still managed to communicate and enjoy each other’s company.

“Even though most of them couldn't speak English, we still got along really well with a few translators,” Narayanan said. “It made me realize that even though we're all from different places, we can still relate to each other because we're just kids.”

Although the competition schedule was hectic, the dancers did have time to enjoy themselves.

    “I really liked our day off when we could explore the city of Barcelona,” Chakraborty said. “We visited the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, shopped in the street of Las Ramblas and got a taste of the European life.”

    Narayan also enjoyed touring and soaking up the city.

“Barcelona is a wonderful city to visit,” Narayan said. “On the first day when we toured, we got to visit many different sites, collect souvenirs and enjoy the whole city. Wherever we went it was beautiful.”

The competition came to a close with the awards ceremony on the final day. The dancers and audience all joined in with a rendition of Queen’s “We Are the Champions,” awaiting the announcement nervously.

Chakraborty found the awards ceremony nerve-wracking but enthralling.

“When they called out our school's name, we were all ecstatic and our teacher rushed on stage,” Chakraborty said. “We even held up huge flags of India and USA just like the other dancers did with their respective countries. The best feeling was have all these other dancers cheer us on and be excited for us.”

The night after the competition, the dancers stayed up celebrating and spending time with their new foreign friends.

    “Needless to say, we were all sad to leave the next day but kind of relieved that our hard work had paid off and now we could have our fun weekends back!” Chakraborty said.

    Narayanan and Chakraborty both found missing school to be stressful, and therefore do not expect to be able to return to the competition in the coming years as school becomes more difficult. However, both agree that the experience was well worth it.

“I would definitely want to repeat this experience several times, even though I’m aware of how much work and effort it took,” Chakraborty said. “I'm glad I took the opportunity when I did and I have no regrets!”