A Bharatanatyam Dancer Challenging Racial Stereotypes: Charles Ma

Part-Nepalese, part-Chinese, along with Northeastern roots, Charles Ma grew up in a Tamil community in Bengaluru. Mystified by Bharatanatyam, he decided to dedicate his life to Nataraj.

However, the journey wasn’t easy for him. His physical features were not in alignment with what is generally accepted in the realm of classical dance — beautiful women with lustrous hair, big almond eyes lined with kohl, adorning temple jewellery. And that led to incidents of racial discrimination, when he was categorically told that he not the right fit in the world of classical dance.

Charles broke the mould and chipped away at the stereotype, to become one of the few male Bharatanatyam dancers in India.

In this episode of VICE Meets, Charles talks to us about what it means to be a classical dancer with distinctive facial features in a society that remains rooted in racism and discrimination.

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