A children’s competition is bringing together practitioners of the craft to battle it out against each other

Ballet, which originated in Renaissance Italy, has gained the attention of students from across India. The children’s Ballet competition Mosaic of Dance is all set to return for its third edition between October 27 and 29. More than 180 participants from 16 ballet dance schools from across the country and abroad will be competing at the event.

The event spans New Delhi and NCR, Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Chennai and other cities.  Furthermore, participants from Russia, France, Germany will also take part.

This competition was a long cherished dream of its organiser, Galina Lyakhova, the director of The School of Russian Classical Ballet in New Delhi. Prior to opening her own school, Galina was teaching at Russian Cultural Centre for 15 years and it is her passion and dedication that made her ballet school famous across India for its high-quality ballet education. Mosaic of Dance was born not only with the idea of promoting ballet in India, but with the purpose of bringing together dancers from different schools all over India, giving them a platform where they could showcase their talent, learn from others, gain new exposure and experience. No such ballet competitions has ever been organised in India, which makes it very unique and the first of its kind. The next aim is to take this competition to the international level.

The first edition of Mosaic of Dance took place in October 2016 and saw about 20 participants from three ballet schools of Delhi. Even though it was a small event, the first attempt was successful, as one of our judges, Pankaj Guglani, assistant director of The Danceworx, Delhi, said: “Spreading dance in India is just a beginning. These events encourage and challenge people to participate and think out of the box.” The other judge, Anna Voitsekhovich, who resides in Moscow and had come specially for the event, agreed with him: “I am very happy with the way the competition shaped up - it was a great first attempt. It was incredible to witness the work of the kids their creativity, keenness, their hard efforts and excitement.”

After getting an inspiring response, huge work was undertaken to organise the second edition of the competition, that took place on October 14 and 15, 2017, at Arya Auditorium, New Delhi, and brought 70 participants from Delhi and NCR, Mumbai and Pune who performed in four categories: Classical Ballet, Modern Ballet, Character Dance and Contemporary. The head of the jury was Gabor Sziraky, ballet master and international choreographer from Hungary, a graduate of the Hungarian Dance Academy and a former Artistic director of the Madach Musical Dance and Music School in Budapest.The festival was received with great enthusiasm by the dancers as well as the audience. Most of the participants showed tremendous progress as compared to their previous performances.

“The second edition was a great experience for our academy and our students. It is a good platform for ballerinas to showcase their talent. It gives them a reality check about how the world of ballet is growing around them,” said the teachers of Patmoes Academy, Pune.

“It was overwhelming to see so many trained ballerinas performing beautifully. It’s a rare sight, especially in India, to watch so many ballet performances under one roof. This is a great initiative to uplift and bring the ballet industry and we are happy to be part of this,” said the founders of Rhythmus Happyfeet, Mumbai. Indian Academy of Russian Ballet said, “The academy and the students are very grateful for the learning experience. Seldom do we see such a positive attitude towards classical ballet in the country, and for your team to responsibly work towards this cause is a matter of respect. We hope to keep this association running and to see many more participants in future.”

The esteemed guest of honour Czarina Villegas, a company ballet dancer from Manila, Philippines, was also very excited and supportive. She said, “It is such a great joy to see children in this competition. How the very young competitors shared their talents here really make for exquisite mosaic pieces that came out as a beautiful whole which this competition showcased. We saw the finesse of their movements, the depth of their artistry, but more importantly, the discipline and dedication that have been instilled in their craft.”

The event is gaining popularity among professionals and schools, and also within the prominent art and culture fraternity of India is showing keen interest in the same. This year, the festival will be honored by the presence of Dr Mahesh Sharma, the Minister of State for Ministry of Culture and for Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

“We do hope to see more and more people to get to appreciate Mosaic of Dance as a testimony to India’s diverse and great talent,” said Lyakhova.