Dubai student aims to highlight Indian dance form

Dubai student aims to highlight Indian dance form

A Year 12 student of Wellington International School, Aditi Singhdeo is pursuing an IB Diploma with Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Economics as her subjects. ‘‘Healthcare and medicine have been areas of interest for me, and I am aspiring to study medicine after completing high school,’’ she says. Fusing her passion for dance and photography, she is working on a photography project on Seraikella Chhau, a masked dance which originates in Seraikella in Eastern India, Aditi’s home town. ‘‘I find the Chhau dance to be similar to ballet in its style,’’ she says. I have been fascinated about Seraikella Chhau and have been looking into some of the old photographs of the dance. Given my interest in photography, I decided to work on a coffee table book, showcasing different aspects associated with the dance. Over my last summer vacation, while visiting Seraikella, I photographed different dances and the process of making the costumes and masks that the dancers wear, which I did with the guidance of Sankalp Meshram, who is a filmmaker. This allowed me to have a different approach to photographing the dances. Through my project (which I am still working on) I hope to throw more light on the