A defining moment

By Debra Minor Wilson
Times West Virginian

FAIRMONT July 17, 2008 10:51 pm

— Kasha Patel swayed from side to side with the exotic music pounding from the CD player resting in the window seat of the bay window in her Fairmont home, her long, elegant fingers splayed dramatically on each side of her face.
Everybody has a defining moment in their lives ...
She dance-skipped toward the window and back, and then leaped into the air in a graceful pirouette.
... when years of hard work and self-sacifice ...
She whirled completely about, her long black hair whipping through the air and wrapping itself around her lithe body, her bare feet smacking the gleaming hardwood floor when she came down.
... come together in one special moment ...
She paused and, looking downward, waited for the next step in the classical Indian Kuchipudi dance she’d been practicing so hard for so long.
.. to be remembered forever.
For Kasha, that moment will occur at 5 p.m. Aug. 2 at Wallman Hall, Fairmont State, when she will be presented in Ranga Pravesam, or arangetram, the graduation ceremony of Indian classical dance, which she has been studying since she was 8.
In a two-hour-long recital, Kasha will perform 10 traditional Kuchipudi dances (one 16 minutes long), displaying the skill and expertise she’s achieved under the tutelage of a renowned choreographer from India. Reservations are due by July 26 at 366-8385 or kashagp@yahoo.com.
The Kuchipudi dance — its performer dressed in colorful, elaborate outfits, dramatic makeup and brilliant jewelry — tells a story through a combination of speech, song and acting, facial expression, and graceful hand and body movements, usually focusing on Hindu mythology.
Since the dance might portray several personalities in a single dance, dramatic ability is just as important as the technique of movement. Dance steps must be crisp and sharp yet appear effortlessly flowing.
This has been a busy summer for the brand-new 17-year-old. She graduated from Fairmont Senior High School in May with highest honors (“I had to give a speech and stuff”).
She turned 17 on July 18. She’ll give her arangetram graduation recital on Aug. 2.
And a few weeks later, she’ll leave her family for college at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., with a possible goal of medical school.
(Her father, Dr. Govind Patel, will mark his 25th year practicing internal medicine with a dinner Aug. 1.)
She’s used to being busy, though. She started Indian folk dancing when she was 4 and classical Indian dance when she was 8, training each summer with a prestigious dance guru, or teacher, from India.
And she hasn’t stopped since.
Sri K.V. Satyanarayana, Kuchipudi dancer, choreographer and composer from India, has taught Kasha during his yearly summer tour of the U.S. Previously, the Patels had to go to Pittsburgh to the closest teacher.
“It’s very intense,” Kasha said. “I have to learn five dances while he’s here, and each is no shorter than seven minutes.
“Most of the Indian dances depict mythological stories,” she said. In one dance, she said, she might be a goddess killing a demon.
“This goes hand in hand with the religious aspect. It’s all about the gods and goddesses.”
After the recital, she may teach dance if she chooses.
“Or I could go on and get more levels. At college, there’s probably an Indian dance group I might join.”
It’s customary to bestow the graduate with gifts. But Kasha wants donations to be made to the American Red Cross International Response Fund instead.
“How much do I need, really? I’m not going to do anything with the money right now. So why not give it to the Red Cross? People can specify where they want their donation to go to.
“I set a target of $5,000, but any amount of money is good. You can do a lot of good things with that money.”
She was one busy girl in high school: soccer, science bowl, tennis, band, American dance and more.
“Every little kid, when you’re small, your parents put you in every single thing they possibly can,” she said with a laugh. “I probably held on to a few of those things longer than most kids.”
It can take up to four hours to get dressed in traditional dress and makeup, she said.
“I’ll go through five costumes (at the graduation). It has to be a quick change. I’m the main event!” She laughed.
Each dance tells a story. Her favorite is Vishnu Dasavataramulu, which describes the 10 incarnations of Vishnu from fish up to human form.
As Aug. 2 approaches, she practices every day to build up endurance and to make sure every step is perfectly in place.
“With all these 10 dances I have to do and a two-hour-long program, I want to go on stage and not worry. I want to enjoy the stage and the audience.
“It’s a big mixture of emotions. I’m a little nervous because I want to remember all the steps. And I’m excited because it is a big deal. I hope I give a good show.
“After all these years of hard work, it’s finally going to pay off. It’s not often that you have this one big day where all your hard work can be seen.
“The spotlight literally will be on me!” She laughed.
Last December, she went to southern India, where Kuchipudi originated. Her parents, Govind and Shobha Patel, are from northern India. She didn’t realize the significance of north versus south until that day.
“They didn’t introduce me as an American girl who learned the Kuchipudi dance,” she said. “They introduced me as an American girl of (northern Indian heritage) who learned the Kuchipudi dance.
“This gave the people a whole new appreciation and gave me a whole new appreciation, too, because I didn’t know the difference. It was a really big deal, a northern girl doing this southern dance.
“It was really impressive. I was there all dressed up and you have to wait in lines and lines to see the goddesses, and here are all these people moving out of the way just for me, because I was dressed up and performed and everything.
“They must have thought I was a celebrity and here I am, just a small little Indian girl from Fairmont, W.Va.
“It was a very humbling experience.”
She received plaques from various temples where she danced, she said.
“We were there for 10 days and she did nine performances,” Shobha said. “Not everybody gets a chance to dance at temples. Even with jet lag after a 20-hour flight, that same evening she was on stage.
“We put her through some hard core, but now is the big day.”
An important part of the Kuchipudi costume is long hair. This Kasha has — and some to spare.
“It’s customary to have really long hair, but not real hair necessarily. You can attach fake hair. The good thing about mine is I don’t need fake. It’s all mine.
“The last time it was cut majorly I was 4 and in kindergarten,” she said, pulling the thick ponytail up from behind her and looking at the jet black strands.
“After that, it just kept growing. I trim it once in a while. It’s funny, but my brothers (Kush, Kunj and Kavi) were born with a full head of hair. When I was born, I had no hair for the first couple of weeks. It’s funny to see how long it is now and to think when I was little baby, I had no hair.”
After the program, she might cut 12 inches or so off to donate to Locks of Love ... and have more than enough left over.
Until this year, she practiced only during the summer when her teacher was here.
“You don’t have to be in dance for a set amount of years. Just when you get up to a certain level. But it’s not like a black belt or anything, just when your dance teacher, or guru, decides you know the major items you need.
“In arangetram, there are certain dances I have to do. The 16-minute and reincarnation dances are mandatory.
“You could say I was dancing even before I was born,” she said. “When my mom was pregnant with me, she’d be dancing around, too.”
“This is a defining moment for her,” said Shobha.
“This is like you train for a marathon and then you do it. She’s been working all along and now she has to do it.
“I am very proud of her. I’ve been waiting for this day.
“Each dance that the teacher suggested, she’s learned more than she performs. She’s perfected rhythm, movement, expression, everything.”
Shobha had performed folk dances when she was little, but never classical.
“I wanted to learn, but that didn’t happen. We’re lucky this teacher comes to our house because it’s not possible for me to take her someplace else.
“She’s done one dance, two dances, but she’s never done a two-hour performance by herself, one dance after the other.
“Not everybody gets to this stage. It’s just like with Eagle Scouts. Not every Scout gets to be an Eagle Scout.”
In the fall, with no one left to drive from activity to activity, Shobha intends to finish her doctorate in technology education.
“I had to give up something for her. When she goes, I can finish my research to finish my degree.”
She’s really not surprised that the Red Cross donation idea of Kasha’s.
“That’s entirely her decision. I’m a social worker, so hopefully she’s got a little blood of mine. She’s heard the stories of needy families. That must have an impression on her.
“She’s a perfect daughter. I couldn’t have asked for better.”
E-mail Debra Minor Wilson at dwilson@timeswv.com.

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