Featured Artist

Urja Desai Thakore

How / when did you know that you were an artist?

I started dancing at the age of 4 and started Kathak at the age of 6. I come from a very arts orientated family and have always been interested in the arts and enjoyed singing, dancing and acting from an early age.

However I would probably say that a pivotal moment for me was when I was in my late teens and at college – I was away from my teacher and stopped dancing. It was at that point I really missed dancing and realized how much I loved it – I knew that I always had to dance in one way or another.

Tell us about work/projects you are currently involved in.

I have recently performed Hats, which received good reviews as part of Resolution! at The Place.

Hats shows the different hats a woman wears and has to put on throughout her life – not in a literal sense (there are not hats involved as props), but there is a mirror frame which the woman steps in and out of throughout the piece. This represents the mirror of life.

In this work I have tried to push the boundaries of what is acceptable to a modern audience: I am not trained in contemporary dance and I am not a contemporary dancer, but I use contemporary intentions in conjunction with the Kathak vocabulary.

How would you describe your work?

Generally speaking I try to present my work with a modern sensibility. I have a strong grounding of classical Kathak, however I make a conscious effort not to use the same movements and vocabulary that I have used in past work. And if I do use them I will use them in a different way or a different context.

What would you like people to take away from your work?

I would like people to be happy about what they have seen and experience same connection with dance which I have. I would also like people to take away a feeling that a core classical art form can be presented in a different way.

 I would like people to interpret my work in their own way and take away feelings and thoughts that are relevant to them.

Who inspires you and why?

In a creative sense, my surroundings inspire me. Looking at people and expressions and movements – sometimes I think of a movement I have seen, perhaps someone’s facial movements whilst they’re talking. I am also greatly inspired by my family - my parents, my husband and my son.  

I find children particularly inspiring as to me they are the most innocent but in many ways the most expressive and innovative.

If you could sit with any artist, past or present, who would it be? And what would you ask?

Durga Lalji – he was a great Kathak dancer, although I was very young when he was alive so I have only seen his work on videos. I would ask him how he maintained a strong masculine persona whilst being so elegant and fluent in his classical dancing.

I love speaking to artists from all backgrounds. I find it interesting just to have conversations with creative people in all areas of the arts and how I can use that in my work.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Just that I’m enjoying what I’m doing and care deeply about working in the arts. Ultimately my aim is to gain a greater recognition for classical Indian dance forms.

For more information about Urja and Pagrav Dance Company, please visit: http://www.pagravdance.com/

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