International Dance Day: Dance is a way to release your stress and express yourself, says Vedhika

Dance is my first love. It was the stepping stone for me to realise what I ultimately wanted to do,” says Vedhika. On International Dance Day, today, she states, “Dance uplifts your spirit; I can’t imagine a life without it. You don’t have to be a great dancer to enjoy dancing. It’s just a way to release your stress and express yourself.”
‘AS A KID, I LOVED IMITATING SRIDEVI AND MADHURI DIXIT’S DANCES’
Sharing about the dancers she looked up to, Vedhika says, “As a kid, I loved watching Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit’s songs and imitating them. A lot of their songs hold a special place in my childhood. I often used to dance to Mere Haathon Mein and Ek Do Teen. Recently, I’ve been dancing to Guru Randhawa, Diljit Dosanjh and Devi Sri Prasad’s music. DSP’s songs in Pushpa 2 were fire! I also love Michael Jackson, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Britney Spears; I grew up watching them dance. Currently, I think Tamannaah is a very good dancer.”
‘Vijay sir is effortless; Jr NTR has great energy’
Vijay, Allu Arjun and Jr NTR are on top of the list of actors Vedhika wants to dance with. “All three are electric on screen and have their unique style. Vijay sir is effortless, and his expressions are cute. Allu Arjun does very complex dance moves, while Jr NTR has great energy,” she shares.
Talking about dancing with Silambarasan TR and Shivarajkumar, she says, “Simbu is a great dancer, and Shivarajkumar is very graceful with his body movements. It was a pleasure to dance with them.”
‘AFTER WATCHING DIL TO PAGAL HAI, I WANTED TO LEARN DANCE FROM SHIAMAK DAVAR
‘ Reflecting on her initial tryst with dance, Vedhika says, “I’ve always loved dancing. I started learning Bharatanatyam when I was 12. And after watching movies like Dil To Pagal Hai, I wanted to learn dance from choreographer Shiamak Davar. It was fantastic learning from him and his instructors. I was also lucky to be selected by him for his troupe, but I couldn’t take it up because of my plans to become an actress. He saw my dance and said, ‘You are very good.’ He also told me to keep my hands a little stiff while dancing, which is something I follow even now.”
‘DANCING AND ACTING COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER’
Vedhika tells us that dance has played a key role in her getting film projects. “In Indian cinema, dancing plays a major role, so that came to my advantage. While dancing, you are expressing yourself, but acting goes beyond that. It is a dance of emotions. They are very different but also complement each other. I don’t find film dancing tough because I enjoy it. It’s one of the easiest outlets to express yourself creatively on screen.”
‘FILM DANCING IS MUCH EASIER THAN CLASSICAL DANCING’
Vedhika believes she has been lucky to have gotten roles that explored her western and Indian dancing skills. “Both western and classical dances are tough in their own way. Bharatanatyam has to be done with the correct posture, angle, and expressions, and with grace. For example, you cannot let your hands go haywire. Meanwhile, western dance has a lot of footwork and complex movements. But film dancing is much easier compared to classical dancing. When you perform classical dance, you have to get it right or else you end up looking like you’re making a mess of it.”
‘DANCE HAS TAKEN A BACKSEAT IN OUR FILMS NOW’
Sharing that she has mostly done performance-oriented roles that didn’t require her to dance of late, Vedhika states, “Dancing in films is becoming scarce now as our cinema is evolving; earlier, every film had a song and dance. Dance taking a backseat in films has both advantages and disadvantages. But we should recognise that our audience loves watching songs and dance.”
‘I have to try and give my best when I dance with Prabhudeva sir and Lawrence sir’
Having danced with dancing icons like Prabhudeva and Raghava Lawrence, the actress says, “They are the best dancers, and I have to try and give my best when I dance with them. With Petta Rap, my dream of dancing with Prabhudeva sir came true. I had an injury while shooting the dance number (Lika Lika) in the film. I rehearsed so much to ensure Prabhudeva sir didn’t have to keep doing retakes. But I was not warmed up properly, so when I did a kicking movement, there was a muscle twitch. Even previously, while performing a step in Muni, I wasn’t properly warmed up and had twitched the same muscle. I took painkillers and used hot water bags to make sure the injury didn’t affect my performance.
‘Vasantabalan & ARR sir composed a Bharatanatyam portion for me’
Delving into her dancing journey in films, Vedhika says, “In my second film, Muni, I got to dance with (Raghava) Lawrence sir. Simbu’s brother, Kural, saw my song with him and suggested me for Kutti Pisase (Kaalai). After that I have been blessed as all my directors wanted to add dance numbers for me in films. During Kaaviya Thalaivan, Vasantabalan sir asked Rahman sir to make a song with Bharatanatyam beats for my introduction.
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