Country's only 'dancing twins' assert message through art form

New Delhi, Mar 19 (UNI) Divya and Diksha Upreti, the only dancing twins of India, gave spectacular Kathak performances in Poland and Spain last year, keeping audiences spellbound with perfect sways and moves of two identical bodies.

Speaking to UNI, after a high-spirited performance at the HCL Concert Series at Indian Habitat Centre here recently, on how it felt to be the only 'dancing twins' of the country, they quipped, ''It's our USP and people are fascinated to see our co-ordination and technical aptness on stage.'' The 32-year-old sisters from Uttarakhand have come a long way from being amateur Kathak dancers to become one of the empanelled artists of ICCR, chosen to promote Indian dance forms across the globe.

After a number of overseas performances following some incredible shows in the country, Divya and Diksha feel great about representing the uniqueness of Indian dance forms at international fora.

''It was a wonderful experience performing in Poland and Spain, probably the best one. The audience was elated with our every performance. The organisers even want us to perform there this year too,'' Divya said.

The distinctiveness ''in our performance lies in the impression of two reflections of the same body swaying synchronously on the dance tunes,'' she stated.

When asked as how they manage to perform so identically, Divya, said, ''This is one question which everyone asks us wherever we have our shows.'' ''I and Diksha have grown up together. We share a very strong bond being twins. Moreover, we have always practiced our dance together. If I make a mistake on-stage, then she covers-up before anybody could discover the flaw and so do I, in such circumstances,'' Divya said, reminding that twins have greater perceptibility about each other.

Diksha too responded to a query about her inspiration, saying, ''Though we have imbibed family's ardour for arts into our dance and tapped the dance floors at an early age of six, it was all because of our uncle Mohan Upreti, who being the folk and theatre Music Director of National School of Drama, gave us the platform.'' Graduates in English from the Delhi University, the sisters also feel thankful to their Guru Munna Lal Shukla for his guidance and parents for their incessant support throughout their pursuit of excellence in Kathak.

Sharing one of her closely guarded secrets, Divya further said, ''Initially I did not take the dance seriously but as I was more into practicing it, there was nothing as amazing as Kathak and now, my days are not complete without it''.

When questioned about their greatest recognition till date, Divya says, ''It was Rajiv Gandhi Rashtriya Ekta Award in 2005, which came to us surprisingly as we had started professional dancing a few years back then.'' Enthusiastically asserting the message via the art form, Divya said, ''We want to illustrate how great and matchless are Indian classical dance forms. With the GenX getting more inclined towards westernized dances, we want to show the beauty and serenity that lies in classical dances. May be, that could be a small contribution from us.'' The twins will be offering a performance for the residents here on March 28 at the Mukta Dhara auditorium in Central Delhi.

UNI PY RP RN1504