"To Dance is to Express!" - Mansee Singhi

 

I am very happy to share my amazing conversation with Mansee Singhi. She is a dance artist who performs Kathak which is originally from the northern part of India. She is a very dedicated performer, choreographer and a teacher. I was very excited to interview my very own mother and she had a lot of good information to share. These are some of the questions I asked her:

1. What inspired you to start your path in dancing?

When Mansee was 4 years old, she was inspired by dance shows on TV. Her mother, my grandma, saw her excitement about dancing and enrolled her into dance classes. Finally, she started taking lessons at the age of 7 and has never looked back. She spent many years learning but by the time she was in middle school, she thoroughly enjoyed creating new choreographies which kept her going till date. Her teachers in her journey also were a big driving force.

2. Were there any important lessons you learned throughout your journey?

One of her biggest learnings is to respect time. She also believes that understanding yourself in your life journey is also very important. She explained herself further that you need to be aware about your actions and your path in life. This will allow you to know who you really are and use your strengths accordingly. She understood later in her journey that dance is not just about doing the class and coming back home it is about the commitment that you put in and the discipline you follow. After realizing this she became laser focused about dancing and turned her passion into her profession.

3. How do you manage being a dancer, choreographer and teacher? Are there any difficulties you face and if so how do you overcome them?

Mansee says that all of these 3 roles are different in their own ways. As a performer she keeps taking master classes and attends workshops to gain more knowledge. She also learns new things and meets new people. This allows her to not only stay relevant but also do fresh work. When she is choreographing, there are challenges with movement and alignment to the story concept. This takes a lot of effort and hard work to get it right for the audience. When Mansee teaches, she enjoys interacting with kids and adults and she feels energized. Mansee likes sharing the love of dancing with other people. Each role has its own challenges and everyday she has to wear a different hat to juggle between her goals. I can't even imagine how she mixes being a mother along with all these roles.

4. What are the most memorable moments you had while teaching?

One of Mansee’s most memorable moments was when her student got a scholarship to perform on a very prestigious platform. She feels valued that her student is getting a very high opportunity. It gives her a lot of pride and happiness that her student put a lot of dedication and effort into dance to receive this opportunity and it touches her that her student is following in her footsteps.

5. What do you enjoy the most about collaborating with other people and how does it help you in your projects and future ideas?

Collaborations make Mansee come out of her comfort zone and she gets an opportunity to try a new dance style. Collaborations give her a chance to reach out to the new folks, who she might have seen on social media or other people talking about them. This allows her to learn from others and share her ideas with others as well. In the future she might reach out to them again for a collaboration in a project.

6. While being a dancer what fears do you have that can change your mindset?

As an artist and creator, the only fear that she has is to experience “creative blocks”. Mansee explained to me that a creative block is when a person gets stuck on building on the current idea in their head. This might be a performance or new music she has to compose and even teaching a workshop. This makes her feel overwhelmed and stressed at times but her family is there to support her.

7. Who has supported you throughout your journey and what do they do when you are down?

Before her marriage Mansee’s mom supported her. She attended all of her daughter’s performances and supported all her creative opportunities that came along. Once she got married, her husband, my dad, has been her biggest supporter, cheerleader and critic. When she is down, they both motivate her to get back up and keep doing what she does.

8. Which is your favorite performance till date and why?

All of Mansee’s performances have been great memories for her. One of her favorite performances is “Echoes of Ramayana” which she performed in 2022 and was right after covid. There were over 300 people who attended and she had great reviews for that full production which included choreography, music creation, costume designing, stage setup, lighting and collaborating with other artists. That is very impressive, especially a show after covid.

9. As a female entrepreneur, what advice would you give to me and other young artists in the world who would like to change the world?

She said, “Everything is art”. Listen to your heart and keep doing what you love.

When she is performing I hear people in the audience say “who is that woman, she is so graceful and beautiful”. This makes me very happy. I am very proud to say that she is my mom. I think my mother would be a great leader and cheerleader for the girls who dream. Thank you, Mom, for always being my number 1 supporter. 

With the bottom most part of my heart, I had an amazing time listening to my very own mother share her journey. To be honest it was a little nostalgic but in a good way. I would like to thank Mansee for taking time out to talk to me about her journey through dance. I hope you all enjoy reading this blog as much as my mom loves to dance. 

If you would like to reach out to her, here are his social media links down below.

Website: https://www.manseesinghi.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manseefeetbeat/

I would really love to hear your feedback and comments. Please reach out to me@hanikachhajer.com.