BALLERINA OF THE MONTH SEPTEMBER 2018

The month of September is an eventful one. We celebrate with gusto the birth of Lord Krishna and then we set the carpet rolling to welcome Ganeshji for his annual vacations in India. The atmosphere is pulsating with enthusiasm and fervour, and we here at LDAB can’t help but have this celebratory energy rub off on us. This month we’d like to draw your attention to a special someone who’s been crowned “Ballerina of the Month”: Teesha Parmar. Read on to know her uncommon story.

Teesha, 14, the older child of Santosh Parmar, a businessman and Sonal Parmar, a homemaker, was one of the very first students Neha Suhjani mentored. We’re talking about a time when LDAB wasn’t even founded. For Teesha ballet personified “love at the first sauté”. But what’s a good story if not without its fair share of unexpected twists and turns?

Teesha was diagnosed with scoliosis, a medical condition involving a curved spine, in 2015. Her diagnosis was quite late, but by God’s good grace, a timely surgery set the things right. This development in life put an abrupt brake on Teesha’s ballerina dreams.

Teesha with her cousin Riva at LDAB’s studio

Over the year she spent recovering from her surgery, Teesha never really lost touch from ballet so to speak. Her cousin Riva, who’s a fellow ballerina too, kept her updated with all the happenings in the small world of ballerinas in Pune. These anecdotes from Riva never let the flaming fire of a ballerina insider her die. 

Teesha in her Grade 1 class

The end of the year of recovery was marked by her triumphant return to the world of ballet, now at the newly founded Les Danseuses Academy of Ballet (LDAB). She had the blessings of her doctor, who assured her parents performing ballet was well within Teesha’s grasp.

Posing with her mentor Ms Neha, Teesha is all smiles after a fabulous performance in December 2017

Ms.Neha has nothing but praise to shower on this exemplary ward of hers,

“Teesha’s zest for ballet is commendable. She’s a super-fast learner. Give her some complicated choreography to learn, and she’ll have mastered it in no time!”

On Stage – Teesha  performing on “Sleeping Beauty”

Teesha’s mom Sonal was apprehensive as she entered the auditorium in December 2017, the night of the Once Upon a Time concert. Seeing Teesha arrive on stage adorned in her alluring rose ballerina outfit and impeccable make-up was a vision she will always cherish. Her mesmerising movements as she performed to the tunes of Sleeping Beauty is a memory that’ll stay well-etched in Sonal’s mind forever.

Ballet has taken her places. Teesha after her ballet performance at TEDX Pune.

That night isn’t the only public ballet performance by Teesha. In March earlier this year, when LDAB presented a performance at a TEDx event in Pune, Teesha proved her mettle once again. She was a last-minute replacement for another student, who unfortunately couldn’t make it. Teesha, the fast learner that she is, had already picked up the fairly challenging choreography, during the practise sessions that used to take place concurrently during her regular sessions. The actual performance went smoothly and it was another feather in LDAB’s already” burgeoning with accomplishments” cap.

You’d imagine we’re done talking about Teesha now. Not so soon. Her personality has another facet we’d like you to explore. She’s an avid painter too. She has created beautiful canvas paintings that adorn her house. She sketches portraits with flair. She’s passed her Elementary and Intermediate drawing exams with flying colours too.

Teesha with her family

I quiz her about what she envisions for herself in life. It’s a weighty question to put forth to a teenager I must confess. Her mom interrupts gleefully,

“She wants to do too many things. It’ll depend on her mood. She’ll announce her decision to be a dance teacher like Neha Ma’am one day in the future and the very next day she’ll confess about her ambitions of exploring Interior designing given her affinity to art. And to top it all, she wants to add a patriotic angle too and do something inspiring for the nation!”

With Teesha, you never know, the sky’s the limit!