India’s Maholtra to perform Aarohan at Divali Nagar

India’s Khatak dancer/choreographer Pooja Maholtra will take the lead in a dance recital named Aarohan – Dance Evolution at the Divali Nagar.

Maholtra has been in TT since 2013 teaching and performing with her own Pratibha Arts Dance Company (PADC).

“We will be exploring the love story of Laila and Majnu – two characters of the Hindi films that are synonymous to Romeo and Juliet.

“The story revolves around a young village girl who is attracted to a hero who, unlike her, is one that roams the forested areas. Twenty-four dancers will be seen in various styles of folk and classical dance in this recital,” she said.

The beautiful dancer says dance is her life and she looks forward to waking up every morning and putting on her gungurus (dancing bells) and dancing in her own private studio based in central TT. Both her sons, Aryan and Lavanay Maholtra will be performing dances with her.

Malhotra now holds a Master’s of Arts Degree in Kathak dance, a Master’s of Arts degree in Economics and Bachelor’s Degree in Education. She began dancing at the age of four with India’s Chaman Lal Khanna (now deceased).

During her early years, she excelled and won many competitions and awards such as the coveted Bal Shree Award and performed at the residences of the prime minister and president of India.

In 1980, she joined the world-famous Kathak Kendra and studied Kathak under Reba Vidyarthi for 11 years. Here, Pooja flourished into a confident, talented and leading exponent of the Lucknow Gharana style of Kathak.

In 1991, she pursued a post-graduate diploma in Kathak under the guidance of Padam Vibhushan, the living legend of Kathak dance pundit Sri Birju Maharaj. Here she was given the opportunity to perform extensively in Europe, Asia and North America.

After teaching for almost 31 years she founded the Pratibha Arts Dance Company with the aim of promoting and perpetuating the art of Kathak. Pooja continues to push the boundaries creating blended fusions of kathak with SteelPan, Hip Hop, African Drums Ballet and Flamenco. She was previously the Kathak Dance Teacher at the Mahatma Gandhi Institue for Cultural Co-operation (MGICC)

The Aarohan concert will take place at Nagar, Charlieville, Chaguanas on Sept 21at 6.30 pm. Tickets are available at the Curry Leaf, Ramsaran Street, Chaguanas, by calling 327-1331.