BEIJING, Aug 23 : Chinese twins, Jin Yanshu and Jin Yanai, performed Arangetram — a traditional Bharatanatyam graduation ceremony — captivating audiences in Beijing with their graceful rendition of the ancient Indian classical dance form.
The twins performed their Arangetram here on Friday at a well-attended ceremony presided over by the Indian Ambassador Vikram Doraiswami and his wife Sangeetha Doraiswami.
“What is truly commendable is that we see two young Chinese dancers throwing themselves into classical Indian dance with full enthusiasm,” Doraiswami said, praising the devotion of the Jin sisters.
The Bharatanatyam debut ceremony, also known as Arangetram, is a significant milestone on a dancer’s journey of learning the art. It literally means “ascending the stage,” Doraiswami said.
Bharatanatyam has a long history in India, and great art can transcend national borders, he added.
Young Chinese people passionately focus on and delve into the study of the dance form’s postures, music, and rhythm, and use it to understand India and its culture. This is the most authentic and deep cultural and people-to-people exchange, he said.
The 16-year-old high school-going Jin sisters learnt the complex art form from the age of three under the noted Chinese Bharatanatyam exponent and teacher, Jin Shan Shan, who runs a dance school called Sangeetham Indian Arts School in Beijing. Shan learnt dance from the famous dance school Kalakshetra in Chennai.
Several hundred children from across China learnt the Indian art form at the school established in 2006, according to Shan.
This is the fourth set of dancers who performed Arangetram in the last few years.
The Jin twins have already performed in various shows, including in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he visited Tianjin in 2015 to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and took part in the dance drama Ramayana staged in Beijing last year.( PTI)