FROM the moment of her first dance performance at four years old, unscripted at that, Vindhya Vasini Persaud has never stopped dancing. The intense love she feels for the art, and the passion with which she has pursued it over the years has led to her undoubtedly becoming one of the country’s finest choreographers, as is evidenced by the remarkable performances that emanate from any one of her productions, notably her baby for the past 25 years: Naya Zamana.

Even with her current role as the head of an entire ministry in Guyana (Human Services and Social Security), ‘Vindhy’ has always prioritised dancing and helping others, through voluntary teaching sessions, to learn the art. It is still unclear, busy as she is, how she finds the time to care for this aspect of her life, but she does; adequately and efficiently.

From a tender age, Vindhy felt dance in her blood, and was exposed to her mother’s sisters, both of whom were trained in Kathak and Odissi at the Indian Cultural Centre. She’d always tag along and find herself in their company whenever they performed or taught at the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha.

During her teen years, while she was still in school, the ‘Dharmic Kendra’ was formed, and they didn’t have anyone who could teach dance. So, with her training in Kathak, she decided to take up the challenge, even training the group of young people to put on a Raksha Bandhan show.

Blown away by its results, they decided to do another show, this time at the National Cultural Centre, which they thought would better accommodate the crowd. It was this show that was later given the name, Naya Zamana (meaning new generation) by Vindhy’s dad, the late Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud.

Ever since then, Vindhy has been conducting classes, voluntarily. She was her sister Trishala’s first teacher, whom she described as the other half of Naya Zamana, due to her dancing and teaching abilities.

Together, the duo would look at different dance styles, and explore the arts in and out of Guyana, imbibing different techniques to add to the flair they both naturally bring to the table.

In all of her productions, Vindhy’s signature style is inescapable. “When I listen to music, I see dance. I see steps; I feel steps. I am very big on expressiveness. It’s feeling what it is you’re dancing; understanding the lyrics of what you’re performing, and understanding the context of the dance,” she shared in an interview with Pepperpot Magazine, adding, “I’m also very big on grace, so you will see a lot of gracefulness in my dancers, and I am also very big on precision, and the use of technique. Synchrony is important.”

A RESPONSIBILITY

By volunteering her time and energy to teach dance, Vindhy hopes her students will carry forward what they are learning. Already doing a series of ‘train the trainers’ workshops, she feels that doing more of these will aid her students to effectively go out into the various regions and pass on their knowledge.
“Whatever I have, I give it freely; I’ve never held it back, because I think that’s how you really sustain and promote culture and arts and dance. I feel that it is a responsibility to pass it on, and I think people should not only imbibe these traditions; they should feel the same commitment to passing it on,” she said.

A WORD TO GUYANESE CHOREOGRAPHERS

In the context of International Choreographers Day coming up on January 9, Vindhy observed: “Your choreography defines you; it is your signature to the world, your expression, message to the world. It is also your commitment to your art.” Even as many people are happy with mediocrity, she advises: “Never be. Be open to learning.”

Vindhy said that she would love to see Guyanese choreography on the world stage at a remarkable level. “Whatever you do, make sure it’s worthy of a world stage. Don’t be content with what you’re doing and how you’re doing it; look at what is out there, and objectively critique yourself.”

She further advises: “Let us not stigmatise males in dancing, because that’s been a very tough struggle for many of them. Give them the opportunity, if they have a dancer hidden with themselves, to do it freely. Go out there and look for the sparks in dance.”

One of Vindhy’s best memories in dance was the time she spent learning from Pandit Birju Maharaj. “He taught [dancers] in Devdas (Bollywood blockbuster film), and I really loved his way of teaching. It was one of the most exciting moments of dance in my life; we danced from 9am to 9pm every day.”