15 January,2011 05:59 AM IST | | Dhvani Solani
A bunch of dance enthusiasts won't let physical disabilities come between them and their passion. At the Enable India dance show today, they will perform Bharatanatyam, Sufi dance and martial artsu00a0-- on wheels
The sword, the spear, and the dagger come together in a heroic martial arts form that has its roots in Manipur. But what will make tonight's performance of Thang Ta even more spectacular than one might expect, is that it will be performed by Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).
"There will be a point when you will forget that you are watching the physically disabled dance and perform marital arts," assures choreographer Guruji Syed Sallauddin Pasha over the phone en route from Delhi.
The show has been organised by NGO Utthan Prayash Foundation along with Ability Unlimited Foundation, and will feature 18 dancers in Sufi dance, Bharatanatyam, martial arts and sword-fighting performances.
"You will see them as amazing professional dancers more than anything else," says Guruji, who has been featured in the Limca Book of World records for creating 100 dance theatre productions and choreographing 10,000 performances by persons with disabilities around the world.
The Enable India Dance show features artistes with conditions ranging from visual and physical disabilities to dyslexia, cerebral palsy and autism.
"This is an attempt to empower the differently abled, to showcase their extraordinary abilities, perseverance, and encourage their inclusion in a society that usually shuns them," says Tulsi Das, president, Utthan Prayash.
The performance will include complex acrobatic manoeuvres on wheelchairs that can go at the speed of 200 kmph.
"These dancers don't need mercy; all they want is opportunity," concludes Guruji.
ON: Today, 4 pm
AT: Hotel Rangsharda, near Lilavati Hospital, Bandra Reclamation (W).
