Applause reigns in whenever professional dancer Indira Itwaru sways her hips to the rhythm of the various Indian classical, Kathak, Indian folk, Contemporary, Guyanese Chutney, African folk, Chinese and Portuguese dances at shows around Guyana and worldwide.
The senior Nrityageet dancer has been a part of the group for more than eight years and says that she has always been fascinated with the art of dance.
Growing up, she attended the mandir and whenever they had special occasions she serenaded the little crowds, and eventually this led her to performing in school concerts. According to the dancer, although she always knew that dancing would be a major part of her life, it never occurred that one day she’d be touring the world because of it.
“I started Nrityageet in 2009; I was in school (Campbellville Secondary) and there comes Dr. Roath (Dr. Seeta Shah-Roath, director of Nrityageet) who spoke with my art teacher. He introduced her to me. That was when I joined Nrityageet. The first piece I did was a dance to a poem written by her. A part of the poem was dramatized by some boys, my classmates, but my part of it was a solo and I was so nervous,” said the young woman during an interview with The Scene.
But as she told it, that experience was the only one she had with nervousness on stage because she quickly adjusted to being in the lime light, something she said boosted her self-confidence as the years went by. The first show she performed in was Nrityageet 30 in 2009. Indira has since done an average of fifty shows since she joined the group.
“The first time I arrived at Nrityageet, I was a loner,” laughed Indira. “I didn’t know anyone there except for Dr. Roath of course and three other colleagues from school. We were by ourselves, especially me. That would be the first time I’d meet professional dancers some of whom were [filled with pride] and looked down on us. But I looked past that and moved forward,” the dancer shared.
Since she became a part of the group she meets with them every Saturday for two hours or more. Indira has since been promoted to teacher and is responsible for the junior dancers.
The first time Itwaru left the shores of Guyana with Nrityageet to represent Guyana was to Suriname for the Inter-Guyana Cultural Festival in 2011. Two years later she travelled along with the group to perform in Trinidad for the 40th Caricom anniversary. Shortly after her return she left again for French Guiana to participate in the Inter-Guyana Cultural Festival. This year, however, the group took a longer trip, a most memorable one for Indira, and journeyed all the way to India to participate in the Festival of Dance and Music. This time around they went with another group from Guyana, The Indian Cultural Centre.
“Travelling to India, I would say was one of the most memorable experiences for me combined with all the exhaustion and excitement. It was two days travelling by air; we stopped in Russia so we got to see Russia which was nice although it was freezing cold. Arriving in India caught me a bit off guard because it’s nothing like we see in the movies. It’s both good and bad but where we went was really poverty stricken. This was in New Delhi as we were passing through on our way to Rajasthan. Some of the people living there was actually living on the street as their houses were right at the street so they sat on the street eating. I was literally shocked. I don’t know whether it was because of space or what really but that seemed common in that part of New Delhi.”
Then again there were parts with breathtaking scenery such as the Taj Mahal. Indira gushed that it looked better in reality than in photographs.
“We learnt from the guide that the Taj Mahal was made out of marble stone and has no lights but on full moon nights, the light would reflect off the walls, making the crystals come alive. Although we went during the day, it was dark inside and he showed an example using his phone light. After that we went on to visit a palace in Jaipur; the king lives there still but we were allowed to visit another part designated for visitors. Being a part of Nrityageet allows me these opportunities,” Indira reminisced about her trip.
When asked what would be the best part in being a dancer for her, Indira replied, that there is no one best part; she enjoys all of it.
Indira says she is most inspired by dancer, Rewattie Datt-DaCosta, who she had met when she first arrived on the Nrityageet scene who has always looked out for her unlike the others. “I also admire Nadira Shah-Beharry. They dance gracefully; sometimes I just prefer being in the audience watching them….they’re so good.”
Had she the opportunity to meet with two of her all-time favourite movie stars as she couldn’t settle for meeting just one, it’d be Kathak dancer and actress Madhuri Dixit and the legendary Shah Rukh Khan whom she adores. In fact Indira confessed that she confided in Rewattie that she’d be happy to meet him by chance, just a mere glimpse.
Itwaru is grateful for her family and friends because they’ve made life much easier with their support.
Indira is also a graphic artist and works at the Guyana Learning Channel. She is a mother as well and her free time is spent with her son, whom she adores.
Her hobbies entail watching movies and series (Superman, Super Girl, Arrow).
She has a weird pet peeve and chuckled as she shared, “I hate when I go home and my mom don’t cook and I have to wait on food. I’m a foodie; I love cooked food, not junk food except its pizza. I love chicken curry and dhal puri or curry and dhal and rice, or fried rice and cook-up.”
Her favourite colour is black which she loves to accentuate with pink sometimes in her personal style.
Indira is currently in the heat of rehearsals as the group prepares to perform next Thursday night when Guyana celebrates Fifty-first Independence anniversary.
