Priyanka's Gaudiya dreams

Rachel Priyanka Perris is the lone Gaudiya dancer of Bangladesh. Apart from pursuing her M. Phil in Gaudiya Dance, Priyanka engages in dancing, choreographing, directing and giving presentations on Gaudiya dance all over the world.

She first learnt Kathak from Kartik Sinha and Shibli Mohammad. Later, she trained in Odissi under Benjir Salam, and learnt Bharatnatyam from Baby Rosario, before studying classical dance at Rabindra Bharati University on an ICCR Scholarship. In addition, she participated in several Chhau, Ballet and Gaudiya workshops.

In a recent conversation, she spoke about the artistic excellence of Gaudiya Dance and her cherished dreams.

“I fell in love with Gaudiya dance at a workshop conducted by my guru Professor Mahua Mukherjee, the pioneer of Gaudiya dance. Gaudiya incorporates graceful mudras with flexibility and boldness. While dancing, the dancers' feet remain extremely firm and their body language energetically expresses the art.  

Every dance form has its own artistic language and story. As Gaudiya incorporates folk elements, the dancers can communicate instantly with the audience. It is the latest and one of the best contemporary classical dance forms. Professor Mahua Mukherjee revived and developed the dance form with her 30 years of scientific research, rigorous practice and perseverance.”

“The name 'Gaudiya' comes from Gur (molasses) and gets prominence from the 'Gaudiya Vaishnava Religion', established by Sri Chaitanya Dev. He was a legendary performer, philosopher and preacher of Vaishnavism. He equally contributed to all the forms of natto abhinoy (acting) – angik, bachik, swattik and aharya –according to Natyashastra. 

“The language of Gaudiya dance exclusively follows the nuances of Bengali literary masterpieces -- Geeta Govinda, Chandimangal, Annadamangal along with timeless folk elements. One can easily distinguish Gaudiya dance by the dancers' sthanok (standing position), called Bishakh. While performing, our bodies are gracefully agile through exertion of extra grip on the feet. A dance connoisseur can distinguish both the styles of tandava and lasya in Gaudiya dance.”

“I dream of promoting a generation of Gaudiya dancers in Bangladesh. I will be happy if the practice of Gaudiya dance continues like a flowing river even after I pass away.”

The artiste is set to perform at the Gulshan premises of the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre on April 4.