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Arts & Entertainment

Escape to India in Foster City

Through Netra Center for the Arts, Foster City residents can learn about Indian dancing.

While the bulk of Ramya Ramachandran's week is spent working as an engineer for St. Jude Medical Center in Sunnyvale, Sunday mornings are an escape to India.

Ramachandran sways her body with precise calculation to the instructor's beat clapping echoing through the Foster City studio.  Religiously, she repeats the same dance moves and moves her mind closer to India, while carefully turning her neck and eyes to study her intricate hand gestures. 

Ramachandran is learning a classical Indian dance form known as mohiniyattam, through Foster City's Netra Center for the Arts.  For her, these Sunday mornings classes are an opportunity to feel closer to her home of Kerala, India.

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'I lived in India most of my life and it's a way to connect back to my roots," said Ramachandran.  "I feel at home doing this."

Ramachandran has been studying mohiniyattam under the watchful eye of Netra founder Deepa Menon since last December.  Mohiniyattam is a graceful classical dance presented as a solo performance by women.  For Ramachandran, learning each nuance including subtle finger placements, eye movements and controlled footwork makes studying mohiniattam an infinite process.

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"There's so much to understand," said Ramachandran.  "I'm just learning and really only scratching the surface.  The more I try to learn about (mohiniattum), the more I see there's a whole universe out there."

Menon started the arts center in June 2009, to help area residents learn about Indian dance, music and painting.  Netra's dance classes currently practice in the United Studios of Self Defense building on Fridays and Sundays.  During the classical classes, students learn the theory and the mythology alongside the dance moves to enrich both mind and body.

"[This dance] is a way of life where you feel closer to yourself," said Menon. "You always have a mental balance and you get to know so many stories, you are so close to the tradition of India and you get to learn ancient texts."

With Netra, students can study a range of classical Indian dance forms including mohiniyattam, bharathanatyam and kulchipudi, or get fit through the modern and hip Bollywood dance class. 

Whether slowing down to learn the sculpture-like dance postures of bharathanatyam or jumping and swinging to the upbeat kulchipudi dance style, Menon said students never stop learning.

"You become so involved in it and you're constantly learning," said Menon.  "It's a never-ending ocean of information."

Menon, who holds a degree in the kulchipudi dance form from Telugu University in India, also teaches the classical Indian dance classes, which last approximately an hour each.  Outside of practices, Menon and her students occasionally have performances wearing a colorful combination of costume and make-up that requires hours of preparation.

For people looking for a fun way to get fit and meet people, Netra also offers a Bollywood dance class for adults and children.  Menon said many people like the Bollywood style because it is easier to learn.   

"A lot of people like the Bollywood dance these days, because it doesn't require years of practice," said Menon.  "You can learn it in a few weeks and then perform."

During the Bollywood dance classes, Menon has combined popular Bollywood tunes with other world music for an upbeat experience in global fusion.  The children's Bollywood class, taught by Foster City resident Shilpi Goel, has been a hit for youngsters, who get to dance like the star celebrities of Indian cinema.

Netra offers dance classes for people of all ages and levels of experiences.  Whether looking for a fun way to exercise or taking a disciplined approach to learning about the dance culture, Netra offers area residents an escape to India.

"It's a different world," said Menon.  "It is a world where, once you're totally in it, you're really just swimming for the rest of your life."

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