My journey started from being Ria Dua a normal girl to Ria Dua being a dancer. I started back in 2013 when I passed my senior secondary scoring 82% and at that time my only goal in life was to fulfil my parents dream to enrol in Delhi university as a graduation student. I gave my heart and soul to studies. Now, the hope went even higher my parents wanted me to be a teacher or be a banker. Just like any other girl I was happy seeing my good grades and the Delhi university struggle started. I just ran to colleges here and there in which I could just make it up to 2 colleges with such a score and was disappointed because certainly those weren’t the colleges I wanted to get in due. But my father left no stone unturned to try his best and somehow, I could get admission in any of the possible colleges but unfortunately, I was getting placed in either colleges too shady or colleges I didn’t want. And every day struggle continued for this.
My heart just wasn’t ready to take admission in colleges I was getting and I rejected all the colleges. Also, I never wanted my father to spend huge lakhs on my education so private colleges weren’t even something I wanted to take as a consideration. Just like all the parents my parents didn’t want me to waste my year and they tried convincing me to opt for a private college but certainly that involved too much of funds plus the screwed education system the donation too. I said a BIG NO from my part. Worrying every day and considering myself a loser I used to cry for hours.
Certainly, in the meantime a non-dancer stepped in a dance studio for the first time and what took her there, her love for dancing. Dancing for me was just a hobby just like every school kid I loved to dance. From there it all began my teacher and mentor seeing my concern guided me towards the extracurricular quotas in the college which I knew nothing about.
I knew it wasn’t the easiest choice and this line of career is going to be very difficult especially for a non-dancer like me. I knew in my heart I could it and somehow my father also agreed. A few days post all this, me being a non-dancer who could barely even coordinate her hands and legs just randomly decided I can and I will but I was like How? That’s where I believed that if you put your heart soul to your passion and hard work then nothing can stop you.
And after some time, I realised this is not easy. Yes, I was a non-dancer and two left feet girl. But that’s where the challenges lead me to my goal of proving my parents wrong, myself wrong and being in the best college. As a student I was the slowest learner, seeing myself my first question to my teacher was can I do this?.....Are you sure? And here I was listening my heart giving a year to something that was just a hobby but I knew it if my teacher can believe in me so can I.
From training myself as a student for months and still seeing Zero (0) improvements in me, from standing at the last spot of the class to crying after every class, I was once again a loser in my eyes.
My dance package was over and my parents couldn’t afford me training with the best on such regular basis and here I was shattered. Then, I joined the same studio as a manager and in barter I used to get classes. So, I started doing work and study program. From 10 am to 9pm I was working as a studio manager to earn my training. The path wasn’t easy I had to manage the entire place with training myself. Slowly and steadily I got the hang of it from nobody to being in one of the best class performers I changed my game through my passion and hard-work. Certainly, working all day plus managing funds plus training wasn’t an easy choice but my heart felt at peace. I was growing as a human being plus a dancer. Now my priorities changed where I started dancing just to get an admission in Delhi university became my second priority and I wanted to be the best dancer and choreographer, it felt something else when this realisation hit me and it happened when my heart second time said Ria Dua : A dancer and a choreographer.
With a lot of mess and challenges hard work is required and chasing my dreams finally jumping on to the day when I had my next year admission where I got into the best colleges of Delhi University as a dancer and I was getting admission in Gargi College at 98.5% as my dance grace and living my college dream making my parents proud and after that they never questioned me again to drop dance as a career more than the society, they trusted me. I was in tears because certainly this journey from a non-dancer to a professional dancer I know what it took all these years.
From being called by people that I am a loser to I can’t and dance is not a career, you are a girl live like one and at times being mentally drained but I continued because I believed in myself. Later on, a time came when I had to leave the place. From being a company person to be someone who is all on my own. I had no work and people called me loser that you are a beginner you can’t do shit in life and majorly got rejected because of the height rather than the talent and hard work. Now I wanted to give up on myself, I wanted to give up on dance. Sitting in my room staring at those walls and comparing myself to all those out there I lost all my self-confidence because of people, I hit rock bottom and then I decided not to give up and be grateful for my friends and family who helped me to take smaller step one by one. I started training people even if it was one class for a little money I used to get. And with time here I was standing up again believing in my heart that Ria Dua is an artist.
I was working on my own name as a dancer and a choreographer in weddings, classes, corporates schools and achieving and earning through my passion standing tall because of the hard work, the blood sweat and those sleepless nights I gave to my art shall continue giving.
I never thought my journey will be like this but I always and cherish what I went through. listen to your heart and just be there and at the end you are assured you will be proud of yourself and what you have gone through. And don’t forget to be a good human being first, only a good human being can be a good artist or anything else. Be Kind, Loving and a person good at heart most important.
Thank you, whatever little I am today I owe it to first God, Myself, My family, Teachers and My friends. I want to keep loving and touching lives like this with my art and heart and as a human being.
Sharing my journey gives me immense happiness. I will be the happiest person even if I could inspire that one dream and touch even one life through my story.