World Down’s Syndrome Day: A Pune dance teacher who made her students make giant steps to battle the odds
At Pune’s Naadanam Academy of Performing Arts, Ketaki Kale has been taking special efforts to bring the joy of dancing to the lives of children and youngsters with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Down’s Syndrome and other challenges. Over the past 11 years, Kale’s efforts in engaging her special students with dance movement therapy have shown slow but steady results. On the occasion of World Down’s Syndrome Day on March 21, the 36-year-old is happy and contented when she speaks of the achievements of Sayee Lohakare, 30, and Sonia Gogate, 29, who despite having Down’s Syndrome got themselves trained for the Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth examination in Bharatanatyam and cleared it in flying colours.
Elaborating on the achievements of Lohakare and Gogate, Kale said that she discovered a spark in dancing among some female students with Down’s Syndrome. “The two students appeared for the first-level university dance exam and cleared the exam in first class. These differently-abled women are well trained and now they perform occasionally in a few programmes and competitions,” the teacher said.
“Individuals with Down’s Syndrome do show a very good sense of rhythm. Therefore, dance movement therapy works wonders with them. It is still not easy and takes a lot of time and consistency on the part of the therapist as well as the individual with Down’s Syndrome. Results are slow but steady,” says Ketaki, who strongly believes that people with disabilities have the right to be treated equally and also be exposed to better opportunities.
Soniya who has learnt different folk dances under Kale’s guidance has shown an improvement in her overall confidence, body posture and hand and eye coordination. Soniya is now confident to perform on stage and has recently performed at Bal Shikshan Mandir and Lokmanya Hospital.
Sayee was born with Down’s Syndrome, but that did not stop her from learning dance. She started coming to Ketaki to attend dance movement therapy sessions and soon gave the exam in Bharatanatyam conducted by the Tilak Maharashtra University. At the university exam, Sayee not only proved herself, but also cleared the exam in first class, Ketaki adds.
Kale has trained 14 people with special needs in Bharatnatyam and techniques from different dance forms. Depending on the level of mental retardation and physical disability, Kale even uses techniques from ballet.
Down’s Syndrome is a genetic disorder where the person will have three copies of chromosome 21, instead of the usual two copies, in all cells. This is caused by abnormal cell division during the development of the sperm cell or the egg cell. The symptoms associated with the syndrome include mental retardation, distinctive facial characteristics, short neck, tongue that tends to stick out of the mouth, and small hands and feet.
Kale underwent courses in psychological counselling and holds a certificate in Dance Movement Psychotherapy from the Center of Excellence, London. Today she is attached to a few schools and remedial centres for special children.
As per the needs, the sessions are conducted one on one or in small groups. The results have been very encouraging, reflecting improvement in posture, rhythm sense and motor coordination apart from improved confidence and cognitive abilities, said Kale who coordinated with the Open University – Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune, for conducting special examinations for her students.
