Source: Hindustan Times
BEIJING, CHINA, August 19, 2002: A group of Chinese girls are excelling in the niceties of Indian classical dance in Beijing. “I can’t believe this. I am highly impressed. The Chinese children are performing much better than some of their Indian peers,” said renowned Indian dancer, Mallika Sarabhai after she saw a live performance of Bharatnatyam and Kathak by a group of young Chinese girls at the Oriental Song and Dance Assemble (OSDA) in Beijing earlier this year. The performance of these girls, trained by Su Bao Hua, a leading Chinese choreographer who specializes in Indian classical dance forms, has won laurels from many personalities like former first lady, Usha Narayanan, during her visit here two years back. Su, who teaches Chinese and Indian dances at the OSDA, said, “she was thrilled by the genuine interest among Chinese parents to teach their children Indian classical dance forms.” Su thanks the Indian government for offering scholarships to OSDA students and hopes that more Chinese students would go to India to master the rich dance forms of the country. Su learned Bharatnatyam under Leela Samson and later Jayalakshmi. She was invited to study for three months in 1992 at the most famous dance school in India — Kalakshetra, founded by the late Rukmini Devi Arundale in Chennai.