Art will help you find yourself | Sandip Soparrkar
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Zubeidaa & 7 Khoon Maaf fame Bollywood choreographer Sandip Soparrkar says Art will help you find yourself!
Sandip Soparrkaris an Indian Latin and ballroom dancer, Bollywood choreographer, actor, columnist, Dance Reality Show judge, Radio Jockey and a Ted X speaker, who holds a doctorate in World Mythology Folklore from Pacifica Graduate InstitiuteUnited States and also an Honorary Doctorate in Performing arts from The National American University He has been honoured with 3 National Excellence Awards and 1 National Achievement Award by the Government of India and he is also the recipient of the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prizefor Social Achievement.
He founded "India Dance Week", which combines Indian and international dance.He has also become a philanthropist with this Worldwide initiative "Dance for a Cause" where he uses dance, drama and music as a medium to raise awareness of various social issues in the society. At the British House of Commons, World Book of Records / Indo-British Cultural forum honored Soparrkar with the title of "Ballroom Dance Jewel"He is the only dancer choreographer of India who has a postage stamp issued by the Bhutan Government with his picture and with the logo of his worldwide initiative 'Dance for a Cause'.and the first dancer choreographer to receive the Rabindranath Tagore Social Achievement Prize for is much appreciated 'Dance for a Cause' initiative.
Apart from that he is the only Indian dancer and choreographer who has the honour of having two miniature dancing replica dolls of his by India Fine Arts Council (IFAC) and My Cute Mini for his extraordinary work in the field of dance and social work.
1. Discuss your journey and how did you navigate towards your current profession?
My journey was simple in a way.. coming from an army and doctors background it was in a way apparent that being a male child I will follow the same… I decided not to.. Ofcourse few family members did not support but my mother did.. took a while to convince all… because I believe that blessing of the entire family is most important to achieve success… finally my hard work on stage (dance) and off stage (convincing) paid off and I was allowed to follow my heart… that is how it all started… my first film Zubeidaa gave me the opening into the industry as a choreographer.
2. Share one incident in your life that completely changed your perspective about failure and success and how?
My father was in the army posted in Srinagar… we a family were out shopping… and right in front of our eyes we witness a bomb blast… I was at a very impressionable age then… my father said “we could have been there”… till today I remember his words.. those words changed the way I looked at life… life is unpredictable so why don’t we live it up and do what one likes and what makes us happy..
To me success and failure don’t matter what matter is my family my students .. their love.. there blessings.. their belief in my art.. that’s what counts the most.
3. Discuss your initial fears and challenges and for anyone aspiring to join your industry and how did you overcome those initial challenges?
Had many challenges n fears too that one had to face .. it’s a part of life and more so a part of the so called glamour world.. my grandfathers once told me… as a dancer and as a dance teacher please remember.. “success, money, power, challenge, fears and tears are the Fruits of life and family friends and your students of art are the roots of life…. A tree can live without fruits but cannot stand without its roots”… so the best to way to overcome any fears and challenges is not to give much importance to it.
4. Discuss a few growth habits/rituals you follow each day that completely changed your professional life?
Practice daily … dance daily… smile daily… eat healthy because for a dancer his or her body is the temple.. respect it.
5. Share Five Learnings from your journey.
As an artist we learn a lot from nature … so my Learning from 5 birds
a) Crow - bathe like a crow.. which is very quick .. means finish personal things minimal and get back in the floor as soon as possible
b) Crane - focus … on the floor or off the floor.. don’t let the focus from life disappear
c) Woodpeacker- practice practice and more practice… Do one step a million times .. it’s said “don’t dance till you get it right… dance till you can’t get it wrong”…
d) sparrow - take care of ones eating habit… for a dancer health is very important never neglect it
f) eagle - be grounded.. in the world of dance one finds lots of admires let that not affect you… be humble and grateful for the gift god has showers you with
Above things I have learnt being a student of dance
6. How to handle challenges/pressures/rejections/setbacks. Advice people on how to handle and cope with failures/rejections/setbacks/challenges in Context to your industry?
It is very simple… don’t let anything get to you head be it something good or something not so good.. “dance it out” … dance is like a protective layer… what ozone layer is to earth.. dance is to human … when one keeps dancing we keep making the protective layer thicker… so nothing can bother at all.. dance creates sanity, positivity and balance which most important in life.
7. Do you feel Fear of Failure and the Stigma attached to Failing are issues that need to be talked about if yes then why? Discuss the Power of Cinema in shaping people's perspectives?
Absolutely yes everything in life should be spoken about and discussed it allows a Person to open his or her mind… talking to someone close or even someone Unknown is fine as far as the purpose is solved… mental health is more important than physical health … kala manch ki nahi hoti, kala jeevan jeene ki hoti hai..
Fears n failure and stigma around it are all self created.. a particular rule / stigma in one society / culture might not be the same in the other … more we travel and meet people from different walks of life / country and culture more we understand that stigma is very personal and It can be all removed and we can be released from it if you don’t bother about people around us.
8. Failing It Up is an initiative to De-stigmatize Failing by Redefining Failure. What are your thoughts about the initiative Failing It Up? Will this initiative help in creating an environment of growth by changing people's mindset about failing? How do leaders like you perceive failures differently that the thought of quitting doesn't occur in our minds?
Failing it up is absolutely a brilliant initiative to inspire and motivate people… Shakespeare said “Life is stage and we all are artists” …. “The show must go on”…. Failing it up explains the philosophy of Shakespeare beautiful… let things fall, let things fail, let fears appear but keep taking efforts to let tears disappear..
Thank you failing it up for making me a part of this amazing initiative I am truly humbled.
