Dancing for the soul

Nipuna WICKRAMAGE

Teaching is a profession that is noble, whether it is mathematics, poetry, chemistry, physics or dancing. Teachers are like candles, they burn themselves, to teach what they have learnt to their students. This is what Prince Ratnam does.

In a country where the university dons have got into the streets asking for pay hikes, in a country where the education is fast becoming a lucrative business for private tutors, in a country where rupees and cents have overtaken norms and principles Prince stands out as a mighty big tower, who will teach his discipline with dedication beyond reproach even if there is only one student. This man is no mercenary and is one who has a vision to teach as many as possible the art of ball room dancing which is his forte.

Extraordinary and brilliant

Looks are deceptive they say. Somebody who sees prince for the first time with his bloodshot eyes against a rich ebony background will think of a man who loves his drinks and fun and games. Prince in fact is the most sober and gentlest of souls imaginable.

He is a man of simple living dedicated to his task of teaching what he knows best; which is dancing. This he does with extraordinary skill and brilliance. He is blessed with old world charm. Smoking a shockingly time worn pipe - which probably is as far as his vices go.

Prince Ratnam

Today in most of the dances people do dance and the floors are crowded too, when the bands take the easy way out, to get everybody onto the floor play the same type of music which gives the appearance of an unruly mob. Ironically most of the people who patronises these dances do not know the difference between a waltz and Viennese waltz a rumba from a cha cha, a jive from a salsa and may even think that samba is a type of rice as basmati. This is the reality and the ground situation. The problem lies in many being unconscious of their incompetence, Prince makes his students to become conscious of their incompetence first and then make them conscious of their competence and after a while goes to the extent of making his students even unconscious of their competence.

For an example those of us who ran away when waltz music is played now waits for waltz music to be played to get onto the floor. That is the transformation he has made of us. Even deaf people he has been able to teach dancing. His art of teaching to make students confident and comfortable can rarely be matched.

Gentle humour

Not only was he born to teach, he advertised the fact with a gentle humour that was typical of the man. He would introduce the Waltz as a dance of Royalty, calling it the epitome of all dancing and fit enough for kings and queens.

He would remind his charges with mischievous irony how lucky they were to have a 'prince' to teach them! Out of sheer courtesy many of us pretended to laugh at his vast repertoire of time-worn and oft repeated jokes. He used to say waltz is called the waltz because the men had to face the walls and the right foot is located directly under the right arm.

Two people moving their bodies in perfect harmony, to a particular beat is a pleasure to watch. This is essentially a neuromuscular coordination at its best. In Prince's own words Ballroom dancing when taken content in context is multifaceted. It gives one relaxation, exercise, fellowship, pleasure and teaches teamwork and discipline.

On the first day of his classes he makes everybody jive by the time the two hour class is over irrespective of whether the students have ever danced before, whether the students had a musical ear or not and even whether they had a clue of what ballroom dancing is all about. He at times is like a kindergarten teacher has everybody around him and gets everybody to clap to the beat of one two three to get the students to recognize the rhythms.

He would drill the basics into each of his students with such intensity of purpose even solid ballast would not stand against him. Such was Prince's ability and success rate; he would have made even a street lamp post dance. In fact his self effacing boast has always being " if you can walk and count up to four, I will teach you to dance." His background knowledge of dancing and how dances originated is so informative and may not even be able to find by a Google search.

Watching him perform on someone who were beyond all hope and turn them around a few months later, was a tribute to his innate ability and boundless patience. Quite simply he was born to teach. He marketed his product well, never too much and never too little. His lessons were never a bore. In fact it drew a healthy mixture of young and old and happily the numbers in both categories seem to grow.

Worldly belongings

He is not a rich man and one could see at the end of each class at St Mary's this noble man collecting his worldly belongings, put into a bag that is falling apart. But the beauty is to see professional men of high esteem, high ranking service and police personnel carrying his bag and his wherewithal to his vehicle. That is the respect he has earned over the years which very few can achieve.

Prince was born to a middle class family in Jaffna. His father was a reputed violinist and his mother was a well known singer. He is the 10th in a family of thirteen with ten brothers and two sisters. Two of his brothers are reputed musicians, one a professional guitarist in Norway, the other is a drummer cum guitarist in Sri Lanka.

Music was in his blood, bone marrow, and more correctly in his heart and mind, in every part of the body even from birth. At the tender age of four he was a solo singer in the church. Later he was a member of the Fire Flies and the Sound Waves from 1964 to 1971.

Prince has only one daughter a paediatric dentist living in Canada married also to a paediatric dentist and one granddaughter.

This daughter of his is his only worldly treasure; she calls him every day and takes care of his needs though living far away. Prince visits his daughter once or twice a year and this trip is amongst his top priorities. Prince has been a marketing manager for 25 years. He decided to change careers because he realized that in the mercantile sector employees are like oranges they are squeezed to get every drop of juice and once it's done they go for new oranges .

He also thought to do something that gives him pleasure as well as to others. His assets were people and not money. Prince by no means is worried about competitions as he is not one who has a scarcity mentality but one with an abundant mentality.

He maintains strict discipline in his classes and though few men and women had got married having met initially in his classes, his classes are by no means a hunting ground for way side Romeos.

Over the years he has taught more than half a million people from all walks of life of all ages, all races, all disciplines the basics of dancing. From 1999 Prince has been able to provide a suitable platform essentially for his students to enjoy the essence of ballroom dancing in its true form and grandeur by organizing a dance which is correctly named as a Dancer's ball as one should know how to dance as a prerequisite, an unwritten law. This dinner dance is one of its kind. A conducive and friendly atmosphere is provided for graceful dancing throughout the evening. The difference is in the blending. The bands provide not the same monotonous beat all the time as Prince believes variety as the spice of life. The music provided will vary from the music for a slow rhythm to that for a jive, a cha cha waltz and a samba a salsa a rumba. That is the variation that people look forward for making the evening different from a workout at the gym to a ballroom dance. With a aging population many a senior citizen will enjoy this approach of Prince more than even the younger folks.

This annual event is important to Prince than to anybody else as it is here he could get the satisfaction of seeing the fruits of his toil, it's here he could see the outcome of his efforts, it is here that he could see his students performing with pride what they have learnt, what he has taught. What more satisfaction can a teacher have?

Prince's generous nature knew no bounds. The profit he got from the exercise hardly mattered compared with what he derived in terms of satisfaction.

He never cared for money. But his wealth was amply illustrated when his eyes would light up each time he spoke of the many friends he made through the classes.

That was his greatest achievement his proudest boast and the greatest wealth! He was rich beyond compare - far richer than all of us rich in the friendships he made and the goodwill he gave and received. Prince Ratnam has touched the heart of many. Long may his efforts thrive and reverberate as he continues to imbibe in others, this lovely social grace from a very long time ago!