A slow transformation

It’s one of the first signs of mainstream acceptance that a transgender-led dance troupe Dancing Queens, will get to perform a full-length routine at the prestigious Godrej Culture Lab today. They tell us how they made it...

In a landmark judgement in April 2014, India’s Supreme Court recognised the existence of "third gender". But not much has changed since — little is known about the aspirations, lives and struggles of the country's transgender communities. In an attempt to extend the discourse on the International Transgender Awareness Week (November 14-20), Godrej India Culture Lab will be hosting Dancing Queens, Mumbai’s first transgender-led

professional dance contingent.Abhina Aher, Urmi Jadhav and Madhuri Sarode, three-transgender individuals who also belong to the hijra community, founded the dance troupe in 2009. “It was formed as a part of the Mumbai Pride Festival, but then we started taking it up more seriously and through these years we have been performing in capacity of artists, which is a great thing,” says Madhuri.

“Truth be told, even though we have been associated with dance since time immemorial, we are often looked down upon, seen as nothing more than mere clowns for the audience,” says Abhina.

But in their quest for dignity, they seem to have gathered a group of 20 enthusiastic dancers to perform at events and festivals. “In fact, not all of them are transgenders, there are others from the LGBT community and there are straight people as well, who are doing this just to support our cause,” she adds.

Speaking of the current problems that the community faces, she says, “Although the government has recognised us as the third gender, the real issue hasn’t yet been considered — to create awareness in the society. With respect to jobs, there is not much that has been done yet.” But the problem is more complex than that, as she goes on to add. “Not many people have come up and tried to give us work. Recently, when I was visiting the human resource departments across various companies, I was told that no one would stop us from applying. But considering that we have stayed away from these mainstream jobs for years, how can we possibly compete with fellow candidates, especially for jobs that require post graduation and MBA ”

But the fact that nowadays they are getting invited to perform at events indicates a shift in progress — albeit at a glacial pace. “There is a small percentage of people in cities especially who have been appreciative of our ventures, but a lot of work remains to be done,” says Madhuri. “We would also like to pursue our dreams of becoming artists. As dancers, we would also like to choreograph a Bollywood film someday.”

Talking about their show today, Madhuri hints that their performance will be an amalgamation of various dance forms. “In the first half, we will be performing a lavani. In the second half, we will showcase how mujra as a form has evolved through the ages. In the final segment of our 45-minute performance we will pay tribute to Bollywood by highlighting the transition period from black and white to colour,” she explains.

Alongside the performance, there will be screening of some short videos created by Jeff Roy. Jeff, a US-based filmmaker, musician and a PhD candidate at the Department of Ethnomusicology at UCLA and is currently an artist-in-residence at Godrej India Culture Lab. “I am an American who thinks of himself as part of the global LGBT community,” he says. Jeff started collaborating and documenting the Dancing Queens after a brief meeting with Abhina over coffee. “I was impressed by their professionalism and talent. I knew that this is a different kind of group — one that has a vision,” he says.

He continues, “Within the transgender community, media and even these scholarships (he’s working on a Fullbright scholarship) stick to a certain narrative. The focus is largely on the struggle, which is a negative aspect. Even though it is important to talk about that, because being a gender minority they face many obstacles on a daily basis, that others are alien to. But I also think that it is equally important to talk about the positive aspects about the community — the things that they are doing to empower themselves.”

He signs off with a thought that Abhina had shared with him that perhaps best encapsulates the motive of the Dancing Queens. He says, “Dance, within their community, is often perceived as a form of labour and many of them don’t see it as empowering. But this troupe is making an effort to change that perception by making dance a more dignified medium.”

At Godrej Culture Labs, today, 5 pm onwards