Vaibhav Arekar’s choreography Narmada Hara Hara has done five shows in Maharashtra. This April in Baramati, it would have completed its eighth show nationwide, since its conception in August 2008. “And yet,” reveals the 38-year-old Bharatnatyam artist, “the only way people know about it is through reports of my show in the south.” Do a random Google-search, and you will see his point.

Narmada Hara Hara was choreographed as part of Chennai-based Natyarangam’s thematic dance presentation at its annual Bharatanatyam festival in 2008 and included seven dancers representing a river each. In traditional Chennai’s Bharatnatyam-flooded atmosphere, Arekar’s choreography was appreciated for its “fresh, non-Chennai approach”. As he prepares for his show at the NCPA on March 5 under the banner of Urja: Masters in the Making, Arekar has evidently travelled a long way with his dance.

Passionate about dance since an early age, a concentrated education in Bharatnatyam began for Arekar when—at the suggestion of teachers—he enrolled himself into Nalanda Nritya Mahavidyalaya, affiliated to Mumbai University. There, he found guidance in Mohiniattam expert and respected dance scholar Dr Kanak Rele. Arekar also trained under Bharatnatyam gurus Saroja Srinath and Tangamani Nagaraj from Kalakshetra in Chennai at the Mahavidyalaya. Later, deeply influenced by Rajashree Shirke, he learnt Kathak, although the dancer humbly confesses he is no expert on the form.

The talented Arekar’s own body of work shows a fusion of dance forms and performance mediums. He collaborated with the late Marathi playwright and director Chetan Dattar in plays such as Giribala in an attempt to find a new idiom in performance. “Ancient Indian theatre is a judicious blend of theatre, music and dance. So we were trying to merge our skills to try and do something new.” But the urge to experiment did not take him in the direction of Chandralekha or Astaad Debu who sought a truly modern approach to dance, branching away from classical traditions. He confesses, “Once you start maturing in your craft there is unrest within you. But I was satisfied with Bharatnatyam. I was also learning Kathak, another classical form. Theatre was the direction we wanted to take our learning.”

Arekar went on to teach at his alma mater for 15 years, while simultaneously performing at prestigious venues. Teaching at Shirke’s institute Lasya in Vakola for the last couple of years, Arekar now works with his students on productions merging dance and theatre. Although, he has been featured at prestigious annual festivals such as the Mumbai Festival, he does not mince his words on the state’s lack of enthusiasm to promote classical dance. “We do not have a branch of the Sangeet Natak Academy in Maharashtra. I find it hard to understand why. There is a tendency in Bollywood-ruled Mumbai especially to bypass classical dance,” he complains.