OUR ACADEMY

The students of Junoon are aged 9 and above. They come from the poorest to the most prosperous strata of rural society. Our oldest student is 84 years old and attends classes curated for the overall health, fitness and well-being of the Women of the region.

Students are admitted irrespective of caste or creed and live within a 7km range of the central village of Gopalgram in the Dhasa region.

They are trained free of cost and have plenty of opportunity to perform, compete and eventually be employed as trainers and facilitators themselves, leading meaningful change and progress in the region.

In the limited time since Junoon began training operations in the region, a sense of empowerment has come to the Women and Girls of the region.
Leadership has emerged as the Girls attempt to spread the love and practice of Art and Sport.

Art spawns a spirit of collaboration and we have seen this collective spirit take hold more than ever in the rural community of the region.

A physical practice is rooted in mental strength, endurance and fitness that is basically essential to make it through life and any goals one has. And Art has the capacity to nurture the creative, physical, mental and spiritual capacities of its practitioners.

The Classical Art forms Junoon passes on are historic and a heritage we must preserve. Making them both relevant to the contemporary era and practiced with an authenticity that keeps them true to tradition is our collective duty as artists and humans.

In areas as remote as Dhasa, children and women struggle for basic access to necessities. Taking Art to them is not only transformative in terms of the exposure they have to larger things and the outside world but also helps develop their characters, personalities and natural talents so they may harness their true potentials and succeed beyond belief.

Hence, Junoon.

Classical Dance is the only performance and visual art that cannot be learnt in isolation.

A student of Dance is expected to understand supporting art forms like Music, Painting, Sculpture and Literature. As well as several physical disciplines that condition the mind and body to take on the rigours of Classical Dance.

Hence, a Dancer’s practice involves knowing and practicing a variety of disciplines in order to be a technically sound and well rounded artiste.

Classical Art has always been more accessible to the elite. Since there is a major expense associated with training in and practicing a Classical Art.

It is Junoon’s objective to make the Arts more accessible to any and all in a commercially viable manner.

Hence, we prioritize the training with very basic apparatus to start our students off – running shoes, comfortable sportswear, chairs for Barres, basic gym equipment, yoga mats, etc.

Our students train in the studio space and Performance Arts centre newly constructed in the only high school complex in the village and use the endless expanse of the rural region as a playground when needed.

Junoon’s singular focus on and methodical training enable us to cut out the frills and simply churn out complete and strong artists of the future, who are trained in multi-disciplinary arts and skills with economic prospects.

Dhasa is a remote rural region nestled in Saurashtra in the State of Gujarat. It is rare and often unreasonable for anyone to visit because of how far into the hinterland this rural region is located.

In many ways, this sounded like a metaphor for the Classical Arts as well. The Arts are often so inaccessible to the general public, most of all to the deprived, that a special mechanism has to be created to bring the Arts to any and all.

Dhasa was the ideal breeding ground for Junoon to make a beginning. We went into remote Saurashtra, convinced its people with little or limited exposure to the outside world (or to the Classical Arts, in particular) that there is merit in educating themselves artistically and exploring their creative potential, despite their everyday challenges of the basic necessities.

Families were spoken with to see the value in and prioritize artistic, athletic and academic education simultaneously – the holistic development of their children; to have a multi-skilled approach to the upbringing of their children.

Their openness made it possible to pioneer something so uncharted in their territory.

Taking an inaccessible art form, comprehensive training plans and an all round education to a fairly inaccessible/out of the way Rural region felt like poetic justice.

Especially given the potential we found early on and have seen grow with each passing Outreach stint over the course of 3 years.

As our student strength has more than tripled, extending to Girls, Boys and Women, it is natural for us to launch and announce our first full fledged academy imparting a parallel Arts education and Sports training to complement the same, in the region that gave us and thereby, itself a beginning with the Classical Arts.

The Arts are officially alive and thriving in Dhasa, Gujarat.

Over time, we have had coaches, professionals, trainers and teachers of multiple disciplines visit and train our children and Women.

They have made their work blend seamlessly or incorporated new elements into our developing curriculum (for the Classical Arts and supporting disciplines) that we refer to as The Junoon Method.

We hope to keep and gradually grow this steady stream of truly interested and passionate individuals of diverse experiences coming to our Rural Outreach and now, academy, for the continued exposure and progress of our emerging artists.

When Women & Girls progress, society does too. Although the region of Saurashtra has always been deeply respectful of Women, they have barely ever been put into positions of power or had any agency over their lives.

When Junoon first went to the area, the Girls and Women were timid and hesitant to do anything that would make them more noticeable.

Today, they walk around in Junoon tees and slacks like they’re a cult of their own – confident and creative leaders.

This has given the Women impetus to look after their health and bodies – something they have neglected since their youth/all their lives.

Education and physical fitness are empowering and automatically lead to the progress of a place and its people. As Women and Girls forge ahead with their passions and purposes, society succeeds overall.

When the Girls of Junoon began performing, it was appreciated by everyone within and around the region. Ultimately, the beauty and discipline of Art has brought them recognition and endorsement and thereby empowered them to strive for more.

The spread of Classical Art uplifts societies as more and more Women and Girls take to it and undergo the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual transformation and consolidation that it occasions, setting them up for so much more in life.

Junoon has and always will be for any and all.
All body types, all ages, all genders, all castes, all creeds, all races and for artists with all sorts of interests and inclinations.

As a Classical Arts Foundation, we respect our differences and believe in harnessing them for the greater good.

Our kids and Women have always been a mixed bag of talent and strengths and we have seen how far the story can come if one plays to those rather than making the Classical Arts and Sports restrictive and exclusive.

A student with the motivation, willingness and curiosity to learn, the resolve to train and do whatever it takes, is a student of Junoon and will find all the support necessary to further her/his journey in the many disciplines, sub-categories, programs and sessions that The Junoon Methodology incorporates.