The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Choreographers never had it so good
Sanjay Austa

Dancing is no more the pastime of the young and the idle. Thanks to the media explosion, especially in the entertainment sector, dance has become an art form that has spawned a myriad of career options from dance instructors to choreographers.

Choreography is an artistic career where the choreographer not only matches the music to the steps and movements of the dancers but also supervises the stage paraphernalia, including stage lighting and costume of the dancers. Experience of dance is a must for a career in choreography. Therefore, one must either have some experience as a dancer or as a dance instructor.

Classical dance has its fixed rules and the choreographer has to be an exponent of the particular dance form. He or she can learn classical dance from one of the many cultural centres in the country or in any of the universities that offer a course in it. However, it is the contemporary dance form, that is the hot favourite of the young hopefuls. From salsa, to jazz, to hip-hop to classical ballet to ballroom dance, a variety of forms and styles are the flavour of the season. The young want to be well-conversant with at least one of the new dance styles and cashing in on this demand, dance academies are sprouting all over cities.

Shamak Davar Dance Academy and Dream Worx (run by Ashley Lobo) are just two examples of private academies run by celebrated dancers. They all began their dance academies tentatively a few years ago with only a handful of students, but today some of them have a full-time administrative staff to manage their several dance institutes and students.

"Most of the people come to learn dance as a hobby. They just want to be comfortable dancing", says Shaira, a choreographer with the Dance Worx, the dance institute started by Ashley Lobo. Lobo began his dance company in 1998 with the curriculum consisting of styles such as jazz, classical ballet, contemporary dance and ballroom. Shaira, who began dancing as a hobby, soon thought of making it a career. Today, besides taking dance classes, she is involved in choreographing dance musicals, dance theatre and group shows. According to her, apart from having a sense of dance rhythm and style, one must have a good ear for music to become a good choreographer.

One must also have a lot of patience and verbal skills to communicate the ideas to dancers. The demand for choreographers is on the rise, with stage shows forming an integral part of any function or event, be it marriage or a corporate launch party. "Corporate events like auto-expo are never complete without a dance performance. Companies now organise a lot of events and a dance item has become integral to them. So, they are forever on the lookout for good choreographers", says Shaira.

With proliferation of music videos, choreographers are in demand as never before. Then there are dance musicals and dance theatre where a choreographer can find employment. And if a choreographer has a lot of talent he or she can even be picked up by producers of Hindi films, which are replete with dance items. Choreographers work on a freelance basis and are hired and paid on the basis of their reputation, skill and experience.

Since dance is a short-lived profession, choreography is often the natural progression in the career of a dancer.

Students are coming back to science: study

NEW DELHI: Bright students are coming back to study science and take up research as a career, thanks to new schemes launched by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), according to a new study.

The study puts at rest fears that Indian science will lose its shine over the years because of brighter students opting for more financially rewarding careers than pursuing science as evidenced by rush for management courses in preference to physics or chemistry.

The declining trend of students opting for science courses that began in the beginning of the 1990s is showing "signs of reversal", according to the study by CSIR’s human resource development group.

According to data collected by this group, "there are positive signals" to suggest that reversal has taken place in the five years since the CSIR introduced four programmes for attracting students to science. These include the programme on youth for leadership in science and research interns award.

Compared to 2002, the data at the beginning of 2003 showed "prominent increase" in the numbers of students benefiting from each of the CSIR schemes, the study said. — PTI

QUERY HOTLINE

Jobs abound for microbiologists

Q. What are the job opportunities in the field of microbiology?

— Parth Sharma

A. Microbiology is the study of micro-organisms, including bacteria and viruses (as different from the cellular components of larger organisms). It includes the study of ecological behaviour of micro-organisms, their anatomy and physiology, evolution and mutation.

One of the frontier fields in life sciences, microbiology has varied applications in research and industry. While some research-based jobs abound for postgraduates in this subject, those with a doctorate are obviously in greater demand.

In medicine, job opportunities for microbiologists exist in hospitals and pathological laboratories where they undertake microbiological testing of samples from patients as an aid to diagnosing and treating diseases.

The pharmaceutical, food, beverage, water processing and bottling industries, swimming pools and hotels also employ microbiologists.

In the pharmaceutical sector, microbiologists study microbes and organisms that cause diseases (in humans, animals as well as plants), evaluating antibiotics and developing vaccines, manufacturing drugs by fermentation, etc. Agricultural microbiologists work in the area of plant development, plant disease and tissue culture.

In municipal or public water departments, you will undertake routine testing of water supplied to industrial and domestic users. Other destinations include university departments, research councils and government-funded research institutes.

Similarly, openings for microbiologists exist in the R and D and scientific departments in industry, public sector labs like the CDRL, hospitals and universities. You can also take up teaching jobs in schools and colleges. The civil services is another option. MSc (Microbiology) is offered at over 50 universities in India.

Sociology

Q. I have completed BSc (Physics) and PGDCA. At the moment I’m doing MA (Sociology). I love travelling. Please advise regarding my future.

— Ajeet Negi

A. Apart from travelling, if you are interested in people, culture and customs, sociology may be an interesting option. Although it’s not essentially a job-related subject, students of sociology head for the civil services or join anthropological or environmental movements. While many work in NGOs, some others with higher qualifications also take up developmental projects for international bodies like the UN. Yet others go in for social work or jobs in HR (as personnel/labour welfare officers) or teaching. Social media is another emerging field you could consider.

All other options, including mass communication, law and management, also remain open for graduates in sociology.

Moreover, the skills developed while studying physics, particularly the ability to research, evaluate and communicate information, will hold you in good stead in just about any field you may choose to train for.

However, it is important to define your priorities and avoid changing streams so often.

Journalism

Q. I am a BSc student studying in Chandigarh, but my ambition is to become a journalist. Can I do journalism alongside my BSc? Please tell me where the better courses in journalism are offered.

— V.N. Nagpal

A. Most courses in journalism are offered either at the undergraduate or at the postgraduate level.

So while you have to wait until you graduate to pursue a qualification in journalism, you can start sending articles of interest to newspapers or magazines and try to get a few bylines to your credit.

If you are in a hurry, you could opt for a course in Journalism through the distance mode right away. While you will pick up the basics and the theory, it’s quite like learning swimming without a pool or driving by reading a book. The curriculum tends to be somewhat bookish and students get hardly any hands-on training.

Alternatively, you could complete your BSc and opt for a Master’s in Journalism/Mass Communication offered by a large number of universities such as Guru Nanak Dev University, Panjab University, Chandigarh, or Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, etc.

Many universities also offer a one-year Bachelor’s in Journalism/Mass Communication after graduation.

One-year PG diploma courses in journalism are offered by universities and leading publishing houses such as Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media, Bangalore, IGNOU, the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi, and also by the Bhavan’s Dayanand College of Communication and Management, Chandigarh.

— Pervin Malhotra, Director, CARING

Please send in your query, preferably on a postcard, along with your full name, complete address and academic qualifications to: Editor, Query Hotline, The Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh-160020, or at careerguide@tribuneindia.com

HOME PAGE

FORTNIGHTLY QUIZ-203

1. What is the record of maximum runs (combined) scored by two teams in a one-day international cricket match?

2. Who recently became the first Indian to score a one-day international century in Pakistan?

3. Name the two spin bowlers to have taken 500 Test wickets.

4. Who is the only batsman to have scored six consecutive centuries in Test matches?

5. What is the West Indies' lowest-ever score in a Test innings?

6. Name the coach of Pakistan cricket team.

7. Name Pakistan's first 2000-km range surface-to-surface ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and hitting targets deep inside India.

8. Which city of the world has the maximum number of billionaires?

9. What is the name of Israel's spy agency?

10. Which two places in Rajasthan and Sind (in Pakistan) are proposed to be linked through a bus service?

11. Which country will build the world's highest unmanned automatic weather information station at an altitude of 5,300m on Mount Everest?

12. What is the capital of Spain?

13. With which musical instrument was Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan associated?

14. Expand PIB.

15. What per cent of bone mass is lost by astronauts every month during their long stays in space according to a recent NASA study?

Name ................................

Class .................................

School address ................

Winners of quiz 202: The first prize by draw of lots goes to Ankur Taneja, IX, St Meera Convent School, Sardulgarh, dist Mansa (Punjab)-151507. Second: Anil Kumar, IX, Govt High School, V&PO, Alampur, dist Kangra (HP).

Third: Ravinder Singh, X, Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Muktsar-152026.

Answers to quiz 202: 11; Sukhoi-30; nine; Mikhail Fradkov; Electronics Corporation of India Limited; China; National Aluminium Corporation; National Academy of Engineering; Xavier Labour Relations Institute; Port-Au-Prince; February 28; Four; Badminton; New Zealand; Bangladesh.

Cash awards of Rs 400, 300 and 200 are given to the first, second and third prize winners, respectively. These are sent at the school address.

— Tarun Sharma