Over 7,500 students to attempt Guinness record in Bharatanatyam today

The Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC), which is organising the Guinness record event on largest Bharatanatyam dance event, is targeting 10,000 dancers’ participation, and had accordingly titled it ‘Sathir 10,000’. The existing record in Bharatanatyam dance was set by a private trust in Chidambaram on March 3, 2019, when 7,190 participants took to stage. The dance was performed as a reverence to Lord Nataraja, who is considered to be the creator of the dance form.

A senior spokesperson of TTDC told DT Next on Friday that more than 7,500 dancers from various schools, colleges and training institutes have already registered with it so far (till Friday morning) to participate in the event.

“Another 500 to 700 entries are expected till Friday evening, the deadline set for registration,” he said adding “with the registration already crossing 7,500, we are confident of breaking the existing record”.

Stating that all the registered students have already started practising under the guidance of the trainers, the official said, “the registration was closed at Friday evening and those who registered in the afternoon too have joined the training session”. “The dance event will be held at a private college on Saturday evening,” he said adding “the event is to showcase the country’s rich culture and tradition”.

Explaining the dance form, the TTDC official said the five-minute classical dance programme, which was composed by Bharatanatyam experts, will be performed on a single stage. “All the students participating in the event will receive certificates from the TTDC,” he added.

According to him, similar dance programmes will be planned regularly to motivate students to pursue the classical art form and to give a push to tourism activities.