(October 12, 2021) Kamal Singh had never heard of ballet ever until he stepped into the Imperial Fernando Ballet School on a balmy afternoon in 2016. A sweet twist in fate put him in the company of a Bollywood film that changed the trajectory of his life forever, and made him take those steps towards his dream. Then a 17-year-old, whose father was an e-rickshaw driver in Delhi, he was bewitched by the ballet dancers and wanted to try it himself. Five years later, he has become the first Indian to be selected to the English National Ballet school.
The 21-year-old, who made it to Forbes 30 Under 30 list, fought not just social stigma but economic hurdles to make his dream come true. Here’s the story of this Global Indian who is representing India on a platform that’s niche.
How Bollywood gave him wings to fly
Born in 2000 in a Sikh family in New Delhi, Singh had a simple childhood. With his dad, Karnail Singh, working as an e-rickshaw driver, the family lived on a meager income. However, despite his humble background, things started to shift for Singh when he saw a Bollywood film that changed his life forever.
Singh was 17 when he watched Remo D’Souza‘s dance film ABCD: Anybody Can Dance, and the ballet piece stirred something inside this teenager, who couldn’t stop thinking about this dance form. Being a Sikh, Singh always broke into Bhangra at every party or wedding. But the fluid elegance of ballet drew him in and he spent the next few days watching ballet videos online. “I wanted to dance, but my parents were not taking me seriously. Then, four years ago, I saw Bollywood movie ABCD and I saw ballet for the first time. It was a turning point,” he told BBC in an interview. This new found passion led Singh to Imperial Fernando Ballet Company in Delhi. Founded by Mario Fernando Aguilera, a ballet dancer from Argentina, who starred as a choreographer in ABCD, the center seemed to be the perfect place to start.
However, the dance school’s fees were beyond what Singh’s means as his dad was already working two jobs to support his family: ballet tuition was a luxury they simply couldn’t afford. But seeing Singh’s agility and flexibility that he developed over the years by running and stretching in his local park, Aguilera knew that he had discovered an exceptional talent and he wasn’t ready to let go off a prodigy like him. He offered him a full scholarship but on one condition — he was to train every day. These rigorous training sessions were no cakewalk and Singh had to give it his 100% to make the cut. “I was training for eight to 10 hours, which was twice what normal ballet dancers do, so my body used to hurt a lot. Often, I would reach home, fall in bed and sleep, too hungry to eat dinner,” he told Indian Express.
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Global inning
Over the three years of training, Aguilera provided Singh with free tuition and a room in his home in Delhi. Singh’s efforts paid off when he was accepted for a summer program at the historic Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in St Petersburg in 2019 where he was cast as a soloist in a production called Gayaneh. “Till then, I had never travelled outside Delhi. After Russia, I felt the first surge of confidence that I may have a talent and can do well in ballet,” he added.
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This confidence nudged him to apply for a Professional Trainee program at London’s English National Ballet School. His watershed moment arrived when he was accepted to the prestigious ballet school, making him the first Indian ever to achieve the feat. Being one among a pool of 10 talents selected from around the world, Singh had a moment of pride. But the course’s hefty price tag did play a spoiler.
Crowdfunding made his dream come true
A year-long course at the ballet school costs £8000, and Singh had to turn to crowdfunding to pay for his fees and other expenses. Fortunately, he found support from actor Kunal Kapoor, who is also the co-founder of Ketto, the crowdfunding platform. The actor used his star power and social media to spread the word on behalf of the young dancer. This prompted Hrithik Roshan to pledge £3200 to the fund. Within few weeks, his fund reached £18000.
Kamal Singh is a 20-year old ballet dancer from Vikaspuri, Delhi who discovered ballet just 4 years back. He comes from a very humble background, his father is an e-rickshaw driver and he attended the local government boys school.. contd pic.twitter.com/L4tTAQB2CY
— Kunal Kapoor (@kapoorkkunal) September 16, 2020
“I have received a lot of support from the Indian community. My maestro has a lot of new students who want to study ballet, after seeing my news. They really got inspired. I am hoping with my achievements, more people in India will choose ballet as a career,” he added.
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Singh is now in London completing what can be called the last level of training that he has to finish before becoming a professional dancer. The 21-year-old is happy to take the leap of faith and follow his dreams and represent India on global platform. “My parents, like all Indian parents, wanted me to get a conventional job like an engineer or a doctor and get settled. To be a dancer is risky. But now, they couldn’t be happier to see their son going ahead and pursuing his dreams of representing India- and the Sikh community – on the global ballet stage,” he told Vice.
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