Priti Patel with Ronnie and Mitulat a workshop at Solace.Picture by Rashbehari Das

Indian dancers are now using Tai Chi, the Chinese martial art, for its healing properties. “Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art that can be defined as shadow boxing. It is a holistic technique that can be used for self-healing. It helps in both physical and mental fitness,” explains Tai Chi exponent Ronnie Shambik Ghosh.

Ronnie’s involvement with Tai Chi began when he was a student of dance in Hong Kong. “I am a jazz and ballet dancer, but I have learnt Tai Chi for three years. It is a perfect form of meditation and very helpful for dancers,” he explains.

Now he is working with Indian dancers to fuse Tai Chi with Indian dance forms. “Indian martial art forms like Kalaripayattu and Thang Ta are like Indian dance forms — very loud and grand and with a lot of facial expressions. By comparison, Tai Chi is a very silent form and I feel this power of silence can be used in Indian dance forms.”

The dancer’s work in fusing Tai Chi with Indian forms began when he met his wife Mitul Ghosh Sengupta, a kathak dancer.

“I wanted to give something back to the Indian forms. While working with the Indian dances, I realised that kathak and ballet have a lot in common because both are linear forms where the body is held very straight. Tai Chi blends very well with both,” adds Ronnie.

The husband-wife duo have been working with many dancers now, including Manipuri dance exponent Priti Patel. “It is a good way to practise body control. For a dancer, it is important to understand the power and bring it out. Tai Chi can help in feeling the rhythm, in power control and in movement,” explains Priti.

But the benefits of Tai Chi are not accessible only to dancers. “Tai Chi creates a total harmony of the body, mind and soul. It is a meditative form and provides not just physical fitness, but also mental fitness,” says Ronnie. Most of the stances in Tai Chi, such as the tree, the crane and the horse, are drawn from nature. “It also helps the Ying-Yang balance, which is a total harmony between body and nature. It brings calm,” says Ronnie.

But though very easy to practise at home, Ronnie feels that the martial art is yet to catch up in popularity, due to lack of awareness.

Mitul uses Tai Chi in her work with disabled children. “These children are not very aware of their bodies. We use dance to make them aware of their bodies. The breath control, so integral to Tai Chi, is also helpful in this,” she explains.

Simple Tai Chi Stances

High-horse stance: This is also called the beginner's stance. Keep the body relaxed, with the legs parallel, slightly wider than the shoulders. Bend the knees so they are in line with the toes. The back should be straight, with the lower back pushed in.

Lower-horse stance: For this stance your legs should be spread wider apart and your body should sink lower than the high-horse stance.

The crane stance: Lift your left knee up so that it is level with your hips. Then lower your body gently, and bend your right knee. Bend your left foot so that it almost reaches the inside of your right knee, with the toes pointed to the floor. Keep your back straight. Hold this position for a while, before changing legs.