Told ‘Bharatanatyam Isn’t for Boys’, He Kept Dancing Through Money Problems & Gender Bias

“Bharatanatyam is for girls.”

Imagine hearing those words about something you love. Something that makes you happy, gives you confidence and feels like a part of who you are.

For Amit Debnath, growing up in Nadia, West Bengal, this was a familiar struggle. He loved Bharatanatyam, but the people around him did not always understand why a boy would want to learn a dance form they associated with girls.

Still, Amit kept dancing.

Years later, life placed another hurdle in his way. Financial difficulties forced him to leave his dance classes and move to Mumbai to earn a living and support his family.

His formal training came to a halt. But his love for Bharatanatyam remained.

Why should being a boy decide what you can dance?

Growing up in a middle-class family, Amit found himself facing a question that many boys interested in classical dance encounter: Why Bharatanatyam?

For him, the answer was simple. He loved it.

The dance form brought together everything that fascinated him: intricate footwork, rhythm, expressive movements and the ability to tell an entire story without speaking a word.

But while he was learning to master these movements, he was also dealing with the idea that some interests were meant for girls and others for boys.

It was a difficult assumption to challenge, particularly when he was simply trying to pursue something he enjoyed.

Yet, Bharatanatyam gave Amit reasons to keep going. He credits the art form with teaching him discipline, building his confidence and giving him a sense of belonging.

And then came a challenge that determination alone could not solve.

When supporting his family meant leaving dance classes behind

As financial pressures mounted, Amit had to make a difficult choice. He left Nadia for Mumbai, where finding work and supporting his family became his immediate priorities.

For someone who loved Bharatanatyam, stepping away from regular classes meant losing the structure and guidance that helped him grow as a dancer.

There were responsibilities to fulfil and bills to think about. Dance could no longer have the same place in his daily routine.

But whenever he found the time, Amit practised.

There was no guarantee of when he could return to formal training or how far he might go as a dancer. He simply continued doing what he could, with whatever time life allowed him.

And perhaps that is the part of his journey many of us can relate to.

How often have we put aside something we love because work, money or family responsibilities demanded our attention?

For Amit, pursuing Bharatanatyam became about finding ways to keep that part of himself alive, even when circumstances made it difficult.

‘Amio Parbo’: Two words he hopes other boys will remember

Today, Amit shares his love for Bharatanatyam through videos on his Instagram account, @classical__amit.

Somewhere, he hopes, a boy who loves dancing but feels embarrassed to admit it might come across one of his performances.

Perhaps that boy has heard the same words Amit grew up hearing. Perhaps he worries about what his friends, neighbours or relatives might think.

Amit wants him to know that he can dance too.

That hope comes together in two Bengali words: “Amio parbo”, meaning “I can do it too”.

Amit’s own journey has been shaped by financial struggles, interrupted training and the stereotypes surrounding male classical dancers. He understands that following a passion can be difficult when life presents other responsibilities.

Yet, he continues to share the art he loves.

His hope is simple: that a boy watching him dance might feel a little more confident about taking his first Bharatanatyam class, or returning to something he was once discouraged from pursuing.

Because sometimes, seeing someone else follow their passion is enough to make us reconsider what we thought was possible.

And somewhere, a young boy might watch Amit perform and find the courage to say those same two words.

Amio parbo.

Sources

1. ‘From Gynemimesis to Hypermasculinity: The Shifting Orientations of Male Performers of South Indian Court Dance’: by Hari Krishnan for When Men Dance: Choreographing Masculinities Across Borders, Oxford University Press, published 1 December 2009

2. ‘Dancing Across Gender Boundaries: An Exploration on the Process of Gender Identity Construction Through the Indian Classical Dance Bharatanatyam’: by Sara Azzarelli for Acta Ethnographica Hungarica, published 2015

3. ‘Dance Is Beyond Male and Female’: by S. Sahaya Ranjit for India Today, published 10 August 2010

4. ‘Exploring Male Participation in Bharatanatyam: Motivations, Challenges, and Opportunities in the 21st Century’: by Debu Debnath and Arkadev Bhattacharya for Cultura: International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology, published 10 March 2026

5. Official Website of Sangeet Natak Akademi: by Sangeet Natak Akademi, Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Institutional resource on the preservation and promotion of India’s performing arts.

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