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Art is not a practical necessity, yet it uplifts us and nourishes us in profound ways. It is created for the sake of beauty and when we come in contact with forms of art we are offered respite from the drudgery of life. How often have you left a dance performance, or an art show, or a music concert with a lightness to your step, an ease to your breathing, and an expanse in your heart? Art becomes a necessity, an enrichment to the experience of being human. We can oftentimes forget that, though, as the demands of bodily maintenance take priority. And so it is that throughout history and across cultures patronage of the arts has been promoted. Through that support, artists can continue offering their expressions to the community and it becomes a symbiotic relationship of appreciating art and expressing it.
At the end of December 2019 construction work began to transform our spacious garage into a dance studio for my Bharata-natyam students. Having a beautiful space dedicated to my dancers is a high priority for me and this new Prema Natya Dance School studio will be that space!
I took out a loan needed for the renovations and work began. Windows have been installed, a wall built where once the garage door stood, electrical connections have been made, insulation added and the first two inspections passed. The main construction work should be completed by the end of January and all that will be left to do is install the flooring which my husband and I will personally complete (hopefully with the help of some friends!).
This part of the construction is the most important to me as it is the foundation for my dancers’ feet. With the hindsight of previously renovating a space into a dance studio and with the highest quality in mind, I have decided to use cork flooring for my dance floor. Here are some benefits of cork flooring taken from a website promoting it for gyms.
While the base provided by cork is similar to wood flooring, it flexes and helps to absorb shock - properties that are ideal for gym floors. Cork is far more forgiving than traditional wood flooring, and athletes may even notice decreased joint pain after exercising on cork flooring, as compared to how they feel after exercising on a wooden floor.
Cork's shock absorption is due to its unique construction. Unlike other materials which have solid construction, over half of cork's volume is made up of air. This gives cork the ability to both compress and flex without incurring damage. Its natural makeup gives it excellent shock absorption properties. www.greatmats.com
Because Bharata-natyam is a high impact dance especially on the knee joints, it is imperative to me that I have cork flooring installed for the long term well-being of my students.
This is where you come in. The construction work has reached the limit of my loan, and yet I refuse to compromise on the quality of the dance floor. I am reaching out to my community, to patrons of the arts, to help me build this specialized flooring. The new studio space is 400 square feet with cork flooring costing $7 a square foot for the cork as well as a moisture barrier that is laid first. Your donation will quite literally be the ground beneath these dancers’ feet. Not only will the present students of Prema Natya School dance on this floor, but future generations of dancers will have the opportunity as well. When you donate you can also honor a dancer in your life or one whom inspires you. A compilation of all the names of dancers whom a donation is given in their name will be made into a plaque which will be hung on the wall of the new studio for years to come. What a special way to honor your favorite dancer!
Donations can be made through this Go Fund Me page, or directly to me through PayPal at [email redacted] or through Venmo @pancha-gopal. Simply give in a multiple of $7 so that I know how much square footage you are sponsoring and if you wish add in the comments the name of the dancer you would like to honor.
I thank you for joining me in creating a high quality dance space for the tutelage of this beautiful art, Bharata-natyam! Both myself and my dancers thank you for your generosity. If there is ANYTHING that is donated over the price of the cork flooring it will be used towards the construction costs of Prema Natya’s new dance studio.
At the end of December 2019 construction work began to transform our spacious garage into a dance studio for my Bharata-natyam students. Having a beautiful space dedicated to my dancers is a high priority for me and this new Prema Natya Dance School studio will be that space!
I took out a loan needed for the renovations and work began. Windows have been installed, a wall built where once the garage door stood, electrical connections have been made, insulation added and the first two inspections passed. The main construction work should be completed by the end of January and all that will be left to do is install the flooring which my husband and I will personally complete (hopefully with the help of some friends!).
This part of the construction is the most important to me as it is the foundation for my dancers’ feet. With the hindsight of previously renovating a space into a dance studio and with the highest quality in mind, I have decided to use cork flooring for my dance floor. Here are some benefits of cork flooring taken from a website promoting it for gyms.
While the base provided by cork is similar to wood flooring, it flexes and helps to absorb shock - properties that are ideal for gym floors. Cork is far more forgiving than traditional wood flooring, and athletes may even notice decreased joint pain after exercising on cork flooring, as compared to how they feel after exercising on a wooden floor.
Cork's shock absorption is due to its unique construction. Unlike other materials which have solid construction, over half of cork's volume is made up of air. This gives cork the ability to both compress and flex without incurring damage. Its natural makeup gives it excellent shock absorption properties. www.greatmats.com
Because Bharata-natyam is a high impact dance especially on the knee joints, it is imperative to me that I have cork flooring installed for the long term well-being of my students.
This is where you come in. The construction work has reached the limit of my loan, and yet I refuse to compromise on the quality of the dance floor. I am reaching out to my community, to patrons of the arts, to help me build this specialized flooring. The new studio space is 400 square feet with cork flooring costing $7 a square foot for the cork as well as a moisture barrier that is laid first. Your donation will quite literally be the ground beneath these dancers’ feet. Not only will the present students of Prema Natya School dance on this floor, but future generations of dancers will have the opportunity as well. When you donate you can also honor a dancer in your life or one whom inspires you. A compilation of all the names of dancers whom a donation is given in their name will be made into a plaque which will be hung on the wall of the new studio for years to come. What a special way to honor your favorite dancer!
Donations can be made through this Go Fund Me page, or directly to me through PayPal at [email redacted] or through Venmo @pancha-gopal. Simply give in a multiple of $7 so that I know how much square footage you are sponsoring and if you wish add in the comments the name of the dancer you would like to honor.
I thank you for joining me in creating a high quality dance space for the tutelage of this beautiful art, Bharata-natyam! Both myself and my dancers thank you for your generosity. If there is ANYTHING that is donated over the price of the cork flooring it will be used towards the construction costs of Prema Natya’s new dance studio.
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