This dance drama addresses body shaming, bullying using Hip-Hop and Bharatanatyam

Rehearsals of the show

When a child becomes a bully, what's the best way to discourage the behaviour? The usual talking-to? Or perhaps, have him dance his emotional troubles away with a sprinkling of life lessons. Keep Calm and Dance, a new funny dance theatre production, prefers the latter. With an aim to address common childhood and teenage problems in a manner that's accessible to the young age groups, the show makes student experiences come alive through dance.

"We wanted to keep it entertaining, yet speak to the kids intelligently," says Jhelum Gosalia, the show's producer. Gosalia, who also runs a speech, drama and communications academy for children, often comes across students grappling with bullying, body image issues, peer pressure, anger management and learning difficulties among others. And Yuki Ellias, the show's director, was keen to do a children's show for a while. So, the two came together to create a 90-minute production, which includes adult actors and dancers performing in styles like Hip-Hop, Contemporary, Jazz, Funk and Bharatanatyam.

"Each of these seven performers have negotiated their way through the difficulty they portray as kids," shares Gosalia. "A very gifted dancer in the show, for instance, was diagnosed with dyslexia much later in life. Another girl battled body shaming, not so much at school as much as at home," adds Ellias.

Yuki Ellias

The narrative that ties the show together is based on a Japanese fable of a mythical three-legged dancing bird, Yatagarasu. "The three legs stand for courage, wisdom and compassion. And through these pillars, the characters in the play see their own strengths and weaknesses. They all help one another cope with their weaknesses and rise above them," says Gosalia.

Jhelum Gosalia

Though the inspirational comedy, as Ellias calls it, speaks to children, it is also meant for adults. "Because so many of these issues remain unresolved in grown-ups, too," she concludes.