Neha Singh gives an interesting tribute to the journey of pregnancy and motherhood through dance

The name of my performance is Vaatsalya Yaatra, which means “the journey of unspoken love.” Now that I’ve entered the ninth month of my pregnancy, I want to showcase my love towards my unborn child and the entire eight-month journey — my thought process through it all. My main intention is to show people that pregnancy does not stop you from dancing.

The repertoire begins with a traditional Pushpanjali, followed by an Amma Kauthvam. This piece is a conversation between an unborn child and the mother, where the foetus expresses gratitude for her unconditional love. Then comes a short instrumental piece where I celebrate this new phase of life with my sakhis (friends).

The next part is a solo piece where I speak to my unborn child, expressing gratitude for being chosen to be his mother. One thought that constantly nagged me throughout these eight months was whether it would be a boy or a girl. This song explores the different scenarios I imagined — how my relationship would be if I had a boy, and how it would be with a girl. Each scenario is presented as a separate piece. This solo concludes with a poem about a mother’s equal love for her child, regardless of gender. The next piece in the repertoire speaks about the greatness of a woman — the many roles she plays in her life, and how she must cherish each one. The performance ends with a traditional Thillana.

I kept the choreography minimal in terms of physical movement (nritta) and focused heavily on expressions (abhinaya), as there are many restrictions related to lower-body movement. Since the performance is scheduled during the 36 week of my pregnancy, I’ve also requested my gynaecologist to be present. It’s definitely a risk, but having danced for 25 years, I understand my body’s strengths and limits very well.

One of the biggest challenges was maintaining my energy levels in this heat. As I entered the eighth month, I noticed a significant drop in stamina. I had to be very mindful of staying hydrated. Each trimester also brought hormonal changes and mood swings, which impacted my overall energy and focus.

My mood swings didn’t affect my abhinaya—in fact, it had a very positive effect. During my second trimester, I was often irritable, frustrated, and would cry a lot. But whenever I played these songs, my body would naturally respond with abhinaya, and I’d immediately feel better. I also feel my baby’s kicks every time I emote.

In my first trimester, the mother of one of my students shared an article about a Bengaluru-based dancer who performed in her seventh month of pregnancy. I was inspired and realised this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I began paying closer attention to my thoughts and the changes in my body, and translating those into choreography.

Society tends to judge a pregnant woman’s body and even guesses the baby’s gender just by the shape of her belly. That thought lingered in my mind every day, so I decided—why not turn it into dance?

You’ve used the right word—uncertainty. That’s exactly how I feel. But I’m also very excited, as I’ll be stepping on stage after a year and a half! I’ve been under constant supervision by my gynaecologist, which is reassuring. What really drives me is knowing this will be my baby’s debut performance. I’ll be able to say, ‘You danced on stage before you were born!’