It is my pleasure to introduce Mrs. Jyoti Patel, who is a sincere Guru and a good friend to all the students (including me) who learn at her dance academy, popularly known as – ‘The Dancing Divas’. Today, at this moment we will look back into the life events of my dance teacher, which has made her achieve this great height.

1.Explain about yourself Jyoti Ma’am.

I was born and brought up at Odisha. (Born 8th Jan.).I did my schooling at my City, Jharsuguda in Odisha and from childhood I developed a great interest towards dance. My family supported and encouraged me to proceed with my passion for dance. I opened my dance academy –The Dancing Divas in the year 2008. (June 2nd). I am basically an Odissi classical dancer. Before the academy had opened I was involved with two associations – KOA (Kuwait Odisha Association) and the Gujarati Samarpan. At first I just had two students in my Academy – Ishika and Purvi. Due to God’s grace now I teach many students and I have a blessed family. I opened this Academy in view of sharing my skills to interested students.

2.How does dance inspire you?

Dance has given me the confidence and courage to face the world with a smile and least stress. I enjoy teaching Kathak also (inspired by late filmstar Mrs. Meena Kumari). Wherever I go, be it Odisha to Mumbai or Mumbai to Kuwait the passion for dance has, is and will always stay with me.

3.Who is your role model?

Mrs.Saroj Khan and Mrs.Madhuri Dixit have always been an idol for me to follow. But there are many people in my life whom I can’t forget- My husband, siblings, in-laws, mother and father. There is a quote – “Behind every man’s success, there is a woman”. Well I say that in my aspect “Behind every woman’s success, there is a man”. My husband Suket Patel has been a never ending source of support and encouragement that it would not have been possible for me to come up to this level without him. My children- Sooryam and Roshni have also been very co-operative throughout my long journey. After my marriage, my in-laws have been very cooperative and supportive and they encouraged me to pursue my profession. Reaching a great height would not have been easy for me without their support. During my childhood days I and my elder sister- Manjari Patel used to go for dance classes on Sunday and Saturday. It was a one and a half hours travel and we had a half day on Saturday, so we both used to set out at 3 o’clock and reach there by 4.30 pm. It was a one hour dance class and by 5.30 pm we would go back and reach home by 7pm. That much passionate we were about dance. When I was studying at the University of Dance, I performed my first solo Bollywood dance. This was my first Bollywod item because during my childhood, there were only two important forms of dances in Odisha- Bharatnatyam and Odissi. Later on I started getting attracted to a few Bollywood songs. The first Bollywood song that struck me was ‘Ki Pag Ghungroo Bhand... from Amitabh Baccjhan’s hit movie – Namak Halal. And that was the first Bollywood item song that I danced on. I also performed on the song Satyam Shivam Sundaram. As I told you all before , I have always been a Madhuri fan and the only item song on which she performed and I haven’t danced on is ‘ Dhola Re Dhola ‘ from Devdas. Rest all, from her performance in the the movie ‘Tejab ‘till ‘Ghagra ‘, I have danced. While I was doing my final year at that university (2014-2015), I got the first prize [Sangeet Ratna] for the Odissi dance and I was the topper of my university in theories as well as practicals.

4. How do you balance your daily life and dance career?

I am fully dedicated to dance and students. I have certain basic routines. I always keep 15 mins for my maid, 2 hrs for my children Sooryam and Roshni, 30 mins for my husband, Suket, 15 mins for my relatives and so on. If I am cooking, I should be cooking. We should never mix dance with anything else. So if I’m cooking, I won’t add my dance ingredients to it. Whenever I do the duty of a mother or a wife / friend, I’m fully dedicated to it. My mind has never been distracted from my work. Next, we should always believe that when you are studying or doing anything, you are connected to God. That is the reason why always light the incense sticks before commencing my dance class. Another example – suppose, you are doing a Math problem, if you know the numbers or steps, then you can get the answer. So even our mind and heart is connected to God.

5. What has been the recent activities and developments of your dance School?

Well as recently as on 9th August 2016, I have started Zumba classes also as I am a professional Zumba teacher now. My goal is that everyone should have a peaceful mind and an energetic body. Zumba is nothing but dance in the form of exercises. So when you do Zumba, or any other form of physical fitness, you feel refreshed and energized.

Finally I would like to remove all negative thoughts and bring positive thoughts in the minds of all my students through dance.

Thank you Mam' for your valuable time.