Recently, some photos of ballet dancing in front of the Raju Memorial Sculpture of Dhaka University have been widely discussed on social media in Bangladesh. Many say that the pictures show solidarity with the student movement against the vice-chancellor of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST). But the real story behind the picture is different. Then the question arises in the minds of netizens, who is this ballet girl? Well, this ballet girl is Mubashshira Kamal Era. Let’s take a look at a more detailed Era and the story behind the photos.
Who is the Ballet Dancer Era?
Era’s photos got viral through the Photographer Joyeeta Afrin Trisha. While the whole country was sharing and reacting to Ear’s photos, she was sitting in Naogaon, her hometown. Era is studying HSC second year in Naogaon Government College. Since her childhood, Era has been passionate about dancing but started dancing in 2017. Mubashshira took dancing classes to Sultan Mahmud in Naogaon in her childhood. Era dances Bharatanatyam, which she learned in Dhaka, and she is currently working with Sadhona Songhoton since 2021.
However, Era had a plan to go to India in 2020 to take some classes on Ballet. But the plan got canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. After that, she started learning ballet by watching on YouTube, and her mother, Ratna Kamal, inspired her. Era is on her way to mastering ballet.
Joyeeta Afrin Trisha should take the whole credit to make Era popular in the country. Hopefully, the photos will get coverage in international media too.
Photographer Joyeeta Afrin Trisha and Story Behind the Photos
Joyeeta Afrin is a Dhaka-based photographer staying in Dhanmondi. The photoshoot was originally planned by Trisha, which later went viral. In this context, Trisha said, “Such work is not seen in our country. I have seen such works in other countries. I got inspiration from there. Then for about a year, I was looking for a model for ballet. Finally, I found Era. Then talk with her about my idea.”
About the planning of the photos Era conveyed, she worked with this form during the Covid pandemic. She used to make short videos. Then she got introduced to Sagar Debnath and planned to do a photoshoot in Dhaka. After that, Era got acquainted with Joyeeta.
Trisha and Era had a plan to do the photoshoot in different points in Dhaka, such as TSC, National Parliament House, and more.
Era came to the dance festival held from 20th to 22nd January in Shilpakala. The pictures were taken on January 23. Trisha went to TSC in the morning to take pictures. Then she went to Raju Memorial Sculpture to take a picture of the sculpture and saw many placards pasted in solidarity with the SUST student movement.
After that, Joyeeta planned to take a picture in front of the placard and tried to create a different language for the movement. That is why many have considered the photos as a symbol of the student movement. The numerous shares and reactions on Facebook really created a different meaning.
However, the photos don’t have any direct relation with the SUST movement. It was just an idea that came to Trisha and Era’s minds. They just tried to present their concept through ballet.
Numerous people have been sharing the pictures uploaded around 4 pm on Tuesday. Everyone is making appreciative comments below the post. Most of those pictures are being shared, with lines of Kazi Nazrul’s rebellious poems.
Shoes are one of the most important accessories of ballet dance. Era tried her best to collect shoes but failed to get any. She finally decided to do ballet without shoes.
Note that ballet is a kind of dance. There is a wonderful combination of acting and music with dance. Looking back to the history of this art in the West, Italian Renaissance dancing master Domenico da Piacenza was the first to use the word ballo. That is the origin of the word ballet. The first real ballet was held in 1581. However, Era is seen floating in the air in some pictures with her hands clasped. It’s not entirely ballet. According to Era, it was a combination of ballet and gymnastics.
Source: United News of Bangladesh