Today we’d like to introduce you to Supna Jain.
Supna, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have been dancing since I can remember but I started taking formal lessons in classical Indian dance, Bharata Natyam, since I was four years old. As I got older, dance continued to be a big party of my life. I started taking tap, ballet, modern, jazz dance and continued my training in classical Indian dance forms. Conceptualizing pieces, choreographing, teaching and performing throughout my childhood and college years. After college, opportunities to express myself through dance reduced drastically and I found myself incomplete (lost). I moved to the Chicago area and tried to be a part of existing dance troupes, but getting in proved to be quite challenging. There were no real opportunities for Indian trained dancers to audition and be a part of a dance troupe. Existing groups were not very inclusive. During this time, I also came across others who were experiencing the same challenges (feeling incomplete, eager to express themselves artistically). Interestingly those I came across were not looking to dance as a profession, just like myself, we just wanted to dance to tell a story – a story that is important to us. It became clear that a problem existed that was larger than myself and a solution needed to be found. Hence the inception of Aavegh (which means passion) was founded as a nonprofit organization in early 2005. From the beginning it was clear that this organization will use dance and other art forms (paintings, poetry, etc…) to discuss important topics while educating audience members about other organizations doing great work to advance the topics we touch on in our dance pieces. Without hesitation and within months the needed paper work was filed, and Aavegh was established as a NFP. In a couple of months, I recruited 11 dancers (some I had danced with previously and others who I didn’t know but were enthusiastic to join our group). Since then we have produced 4 different shows (each one with a separate theme – please see our timeline at: https://www.aavegh.org/our-history). We have provided opportunities to over 30 different young professional artists in the Chicagoland area to join our team and contribute to our work. We have brought awareness to a variety of social issues (please see link above) and have donated over $20,000 to local, national, and international charities.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It is without a doubt that the strongest asset of Aavegh are the people that are part of it. All of our members, dancers and artists are volunteers. They devote a large amount of their free time (which we know we don’t have a lot of) to preparing and performing productions. Four months prior to a show, dancers are meeting every Sunday for up to 6 hours. Now that is commitment!
Thus you can imagine that coordinating schedules would be the most challenging as often times “life” would get in the way:) . For example, having my two sons, definitely didn’t allow me to devote as much time to Aavegh as I would have liked for a period of 5 years.
The most challenging however is fundraising. Putting on a production, especially the quality we hope to put on, can be costly. And although we have been around since 2005, it doesn’t seem to get easier. We find this aspect to be time consuming and often times not as rewarding as we would like.
But despite this and because of the drive, passion and commitment of our long-time Aavegh members, we somehow have been able to fundraise the needed amount to put on our shows. And stay true to our mission to give back. So we take great pride in that we have donated over $20k of our proceeds to charities that work on social issues we highlight in our productions.
Please tell us about Aavegh.
We dance with a purpose. We use dance and other art forms to discuss important issues. Aavegh is unique in its fusion of East Indian and western dance forms, and in our mission:
To create dialogue on important societal issues through artistic expression while giving back to our community.
We want to start a conversation with our audience members. We want them to experience a variety of emotions when they see our performance. We hope that by feeling something first, they are more willing to engaging in tough conversation with not only themselves but also with others. Our innovative shows touch each of your senses, a patchwork of dance, artwork, poetry, song – and heart.
Aavegh not only expose current issues affecting our society today but also shine a spot light on local organizations that are doing great work in the issues our dance pieces tough on.
We create, perform and then DONATE proceeds! Imagine that…despite our challenges fundraising, we donate a large part (if not all of our proceeds). We are not only driven by our artistic passions, but by the understanding that change is a possibility. Since 2005, we have donated more than $20,000 in show proceeds to local and worldwide nonprofits.
100% of our members are unpaid.
I will also say that once someone has seen our show, they won’t forget us. We have been told on many occasions that our productions have a lasting effect. They remember our pieces, the stories, the music, the people…they remember our purpose…and that is something we take great pride in.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My dad listened to great music when I was young and my sister enjoyed dancing. Since I can remember that was our favorite past time…my dad would put on some record and my sister and I would dance for hours in our living room (on the coffee table …anywhere there was space to dance). There was so much love I associated with dance/music. It was nurtured and supported in the best way possible. My dad was always videotaping our performances, my mom was sewing my dance costumes or making sure my costumes were just right, and my sister was my first and most precious dance partner I had. Childhood = dance = love. That was my childhood…a beautiful beginning that only grew more beautifully from there.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1915 Tufton Ct.
Naperville, IL 60564 - Website: www.aavegh.org
- Email: info@aavegh.org
Image Credit:
Photograph Credits:
Solomon Katta
Poyni Jahagirdar
Soma’s Photography
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