Tip-toeing towards success

Eleven-year-old Jyotsna Nair performs Bharatnatyam and Mohiniattam on folded toes and has made her mark on the Indian classical dance scene

Dance is a medium of reflecting one’s mind and soul but it is important to have that extraordinary factor to grace the stage. Child prodigy, Jyotsna Nair does it with ease. She has a unique ability to dance on her folded toes. She has also registered her name in the Guiness Book of World Records for her unique talent of classical dancing on tip toes.
The 11-year-old, studies in DAV Public School, New Panvel and has a passion for dancing. She spends an hour practicing classical dance everyday and five to six hours when she has a scheduled dance event round the corner. She is among the youngest entrants to the Guiness Book of World Records World Records achiever’s list. Her parents Vijayakumar and Raji Vijayakumar, are extremely proud of her achievements.

Small steps
I started dancing at the tender age of three and as I was inclined towards dancing. My parents enrolled me at the Navarasa Dance Academy, Nerul. My Guru Sushma Gopinath taught and mentored me with the fine nuances of classical dance forms Bharatnatyam and Mohiniattam. I used to walk tip toed for fun when I was very small. When I approached my guru Gopinath, she told me to develop and enhance the ability and merge it with my dancing skills. She suggested it would be unique if I try to take it seriously and made a niche for myself in such a skill. I started developing my dancing skill and blended it with tip toeing. At the age of nine I completed my basic course in Bharatnatyam and Mohiniattam. Other than classical, I can also perform western dance on bended toes.

Special reward
I cannot call this incident as a memorable day but it is surely an inspiration for me when Guiness Book of World Records acknowledged my talent. They sent a letter to my parents and were impressed with my dancing. I just hope very soon I find my name as one of the record holders.

Support system
Besides my skills and talent in dancing, the support that I received from my family, mentor, school and friends played a vital role for me to reach places. My family initiated me into classical dancing and boosted my confidence to be a performer. All my school teachers have also been very supportive, especially the principal Ms Bhattacharya for her encouragement and special support.

Future goals
I would love to keep performing, but I am also inclined to set my academic goals. I would like to opt for science stream and enter technical field. This will definitely not hamper my dancing abilities and would keep enhancing my dancing skills simultaneously. I would also like to take up advanced dancing courses in Bharatnatyam. I will try to balance my studies along with my passion for dancing.

Jyotsna Nair’s accolades
•Performed for 7 minutes at Arangetram in 2009 on folded toes. Arangetram is the debut on-stage performance of a Bharatanatyam student
•Registered her name in the Guinness Book of World Records
•On the team of Kerala tourism development corporation dance programme
•Performed at all the South Indian temples of Navi Mumbai