Such was the determination of self-taught dancer Anusha Akshya. Fuelled by passion and a desire to prove her naysayers wrong, the 21-year-old danced non-stop for 12 hours, earning a place in the Malaysia Book of Records for the longest non-stop semi-classical dance by an individual.
“I was so happy because dancing for 12 hours was like a nightmare. It was very difficult, but I did it!” Anusha, the second among three siblings, shared with FMT Lifestyle.
To achieve this, the Sepang-based business management student trained for nearly a year, even dancing beyond 12 hours to condition her body.
“When I told my father that I was attempting this, he said it’s not possible to dance for 12 hours. I told him, ‘No appa, I can do this. It’s okay if you don’t believe in me. I believe in myself. I know I can do this.’
“And this challenge is one the things that kept me going for those 12 hours,” Anusha revealed, adding that she danced to more than 250 songs from Tamil, Telegu, and Hindi films.
Anusha’s love affair with dance began when she was just three years old. “I felt like dancing was something I loved to do,” she recalled.
Encouraged by her mother, a dancer herself, Anusha took up Bharatanatyam classes. However, after a few months, she had to stop. But that didn’t keep her feet from moving.
Instead, Anusha found her own rhythm. “I loved watching videos … and then one day, I stumbled upon dance videos on YouTube. I started copying the steps, thinking, why not learn on my own?”
Freestyle, hip-hop, semi-classical – she loved them all. Her first performance? A wedding when she was seven. “Most of my relatives were amazed, asking, ‘Who is this girl? She’s dancing so well!’,” she recalled.
“Even though I had only learned Bharatanatyam for a few months, I kept going because people appreciated me. I thought, why stop now?”
At just 15, Anusha dreamed of setting a record. “I’ve always been someone who loves to explore. I don’t like being stuck between four walls,” she said. However, her parents worried that her passion for dance might interfere with her studies. So, she pressed pause on her dream.
But after completing her SPM examinations, Anusha threw herself into the creative world, landing roles in local Tamil television and film productions.
The dream of breaking a record never faded. With the help of technology, Anusha livestreamed her 12-hour dancing feat, her living room serving as her stage.
“The moment I finished, I just sat down. The soles of my feet were very reddish. I was so exhausted. I didn’t even eat. I had some water and immediately went to bed. The next day in class, my friends asked me why I was walking funny. I just told them I was unwell. It took me more than a week to physically recover!” Anusha recounted.
So why take on the gruelling challenge of a 12-hour non-stop dance performance? “Because I love to explore, to learn, to achieve,” she said. “I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.”
And the record-breaking dancer isn’t slowing down anytime soon. “I’ve always wanted to be an actor,” she shared. “If I get opportunities, I’ll keep working on big projects.”
But dance will always be part of her story.
“I want to start a dance academy one day,” she said. “But before that, I have to learn more. Since I’m self-taught, I need to gain more knowledge before I can teach others.”
Indeed, for Anusha, dance is more than movement – it’s medicine. “It heals me,” she said. “Whenever I’m sad, I dance, and suddenly, I feel okay. It’s like my body and soul are in sync. Dance lets me tell stories, express emotions without words. That’s why I love it – it’s not just an art; it’s a connection.”