'My mom was my first teacher': How Nivedha Ramalingam danced her way to her dreams

Nivedha Ramalingam is dancing as part of the new CBC Arts series The Move. Over the coming weeks, we will introduce you to six dancers, each of whom will invite you into their routines, providing a deeper understanding of the movements that hold personal significance for them.

Nivedha Ramalingam started dancing bharatanatyam when she was just 5 years old. Nine years later, at 14, she became a choreographer, training students in her own school of dance the Bharathalaya Dance Academy.

Bharatanatyam is a centuries-old classical form of dancing originated in Southern India. In the beginning, it was performed as a solo dance exclusively by women to interpret religious texts and pay deep respect to Hindu gods and goddesses. It was banned in 1910 under British colonialism, but the ban was protested and the dance eventually revived. While Nivedha did study under some of the leading artists in the field locally as well as in India, like most bharatanatyam dancers, she was first exposed to this art form at home through her parents.

Watch the video:

The Move: ​Nivedha Ramalingam

7 years ago

Duration 3:46

Nivedha's mother had her own dreams of dancing and was a prominent dancer in Singapore for a period of time. However, those dreams were not fully supported — and she eventually moved on.

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So when she gave birth to a daughter, she ensured Nivedha would always have the discipline, love and encouragement needed to excel as a dancer. 20 years later, Nivedha is still pushing herself to dive deeper into her own practice and hoping to expand the audiences for this traditional dance beyond South Asian communities.

You are only a true artist when you are able to touch the souls who are watching you.- Nivedha Ramalingam, dancer

Bharatanatyam is a complex dance form, combining flexible footwork, intricate sign language, dramatic facial expressions and beautiful moments of stillness and quiet. Nivedha, who typically performs hour long repertoires, choreographed a much shorter piece for CBC Arts so we can give you a taste of what this incredible dance form has to offer. And while this dance is meant as a spiritual offering — the story of a heroine awaiting the arrival of her God — it's not hard to also see it as a meaningful way for Nivedha to honour her first teacher: her mother.

Watch the first episode of The Move featuring Siphesihle November, who never expected to have the life as a ballet dancer and now at 19 is the youngest company member of the National Ballet of Canada.