Kathak is the art of story telling in the form of dance. It is an art that is pretty low key in Pakistan. This young classical dancer is on a mission to promote the dance form.
Alaina Roy is a classically trained Kathak Dancer, based in Karachi.
Alaina began dancing at the very young age of 6. Ballet was the first form of dance she pursued.
However, two years later, she switched to Kathak. Ever since then, Alaina has dedicated her life to learning and perfecting the art.
“It has been 10 years since I began training as a classical Kathak (Lucknowi Gharana) dancer under the guidance of Guru Pali Chandra and Nitesh Saraswat and my heart has been in it since day one,” says Alaina.
The dancer began her journey from Dubai. From there, her passion took her all the way to India.
She has experienced the artistic guidance of Guru Pali Chandra, Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji, Guru Shikha Khare, Guru Ruchi Khare, alongside many others.
Alaina has performed and auditioned for several events in Dubai, London, and Pakistan, including a recent World Dance Day at Alliance Francaise.
The classical dancer was also featured in the title song for the popular Hum TV drama “Kitni Girhain Baaqi Hain”.
Alaina is not only a performer. She is someone who is willing to pass on her knowledge of Kathak to those who are eager to learn.
Her students include females of all ages. All with a unanimous passion to learn the art. Alaina plans on moving to the UK for university but her dream will go on. She still plans on conducting classes in Karachi during her days off from university, three to four times a year. She wishes to provide people with crash courses and remain loyal to her mission.
We are immensely proud to have performers like Alaina who are aiming to bring traditional dance back to life and once again revive the culture of ghungroos and the grace of chakkars.
What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments below.
Cover image via instagram.com/kathakwithalainaroy