A young Kathak dancer, Shubham has been following the art form since his school days. Having seen many ups and downs as a male dancer, he feels it's a blessing for him too, as he can perform any role with his body.

Shubham Pal Singh Rathore is a Kathak dancer. He has been learning and performing Kathak for the past ten years.

Sharing about his dance journey, Shubham says when he was studying in the fourth grade, his music teacher introduced Kathak to his class for the first time. He remembers falling in love with Kathak in that first moment.

Remembering his childhood, Shubham says he was very interested in all those art activities in which he didn’t have to study. He remembers that he used to skip his game period to attend the dance classes. He learned Kathak from ninth grade to eighth grade but had to drop out in between for two years as he didn’t have anyone to teach him Kathak. In the eleventh grade, he was fortunate enough to get his dance training again.

Talking about  his struggles, Shubham says that during his dance journey he had to face many ups and downs as a male dancer. He hails from Jodhpur and comes from a traditional, small city family. It was not easy for him to convince his conservative parents to allow him to take Kathak as his profession.

He followed his Kathak diploma training at the Delhi Kathak Kendra under Pandit Rajendra Gangani, the famous Kathak guru. Currently, he is taking training under the guidance of Guru Prerna Shrimali.

Shubham says he used to be a shy kid and had a problem sharing his emotions and feelings with people because of his weak communication skills. But when he started following Kathak, people appreciated him a lot and wanted to know more about him. Then he understood the power of Kathak and that this was the strongest medium for him to communicate with people.

As a male Kathak dancer, Shubham felt it was an advantage for him as he could perform any of the roles. He feels blessed to be associated with Kathak, which has carved him like a diamond.

When Shubham was very young, to follow his passion, he became very eager to learn Kathak quickly and wanted to complete all the phases quickly. He thinks it was one of his biggest mistakes, physically overusing his body to learn the art quickly. His mistake made him learn that everything in life would come with time.

Speaking about his achievements, Shubham says he feels accomplished when his family appreciates and recognizes his efforts in his field.

When asked about his role models, Shubham says he used to  think of every single person as a role model. When he was in school, his music teacher, Anupama Madam, was his role model. He also considers his Kathak gurus, Rajendra Gangani and Prerna Shrimali as his role models.

Explaining how he deals with stress, Shubham says practicing his art with his fellow Kathak artists keeps him calm and gives him mental peace.

Shubham suggests to the young dance aspirants that they should pursue their dreams without getting afraid of others’ perspectives.

Shubham’s life mantra is “Suno Sabki aur Karo Mann Ki.” He says he analyzes everything, but at the end he does what he feels is right.