BA student attempts 170-hour Bharatanatyam marathon | Mangaluru News
Mangaluru: Remona Evette Pereira, a third-year BA student at St Aloysius (Deemed to Be University), is on a tireless mission to etch her name in the Golden Book of Records with an extraordinary 170-hour Bharatanatyam dance marathon.The dance marathon, under way at the St Aloysius College campus, began on July 21 and is set to conclude at 1 pm on July 28. “As part of this marathon, she takes a short break of 15 minutes every three hours,” said Christopher D’Souza, director, Ranga Adhyayana Kendra, St Aloysius College.“So far, over 125 hours have been recorded, and the entire performance is being meticulously documented. A judge is expected to arrive soon to officially validate the attempt. Remona’s mother, Gladis Pereira, has been her strongest pillar of support throughout the challenge. Her energy rises whenever there is an audience. We also have a dedicated team of volunteers and students who take turns to stay with her, cheer her on, and keep her spirits high,” D’Souza said.Remona’s passion for Bharatanatyam began early. She started learning at the age of three under the tutelage of Shrividya Muralidhar and performed her Rangapravesha in 2019. She is also a NSS volunteer. Her vision is to make Indian classical dance accessible to orphans, persons with disabilities, and transgender individuals. She also dreams of pursuing a PhD in Bharatanatyam.Remona had received the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar in 2022 and holds few other records to her name. She has won numerous dance competitions and has been featured on several TV shows.Beyond Bharatanatyam, her dance repertoire spans classical, semi-classical, folk, hip hop, Latin, Bollywood, ballroom, and even acrobatic forms. Her performances are known for their daring and creativity, dancing on broken glass, nail pads, mud pots, balancing fire pots, karagattam, dancing with fire hula hoops, LED feathers, and even preparing tea on head and balancing on a copper plate.
