Indian dancer breaks world record with 170-hour Bharatanatyam performance

Dubai: Indian student Remona Evette Pereira is making headlines for her remarkable 170-hour performance of Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance. The achievement has earned her a spot in the Golden Book of World Records.

Her performance videos have taken the social media by storm, as viewers across the nation and abroad praise Pereira’s dedication to the arts.

Here’s what you need to know about the record-breaking dancer and her extraordinary performance. 

Nicknamed the ‘golden girl’, Pereira is a Mangalorean third-year student at St. Aloysius College, where she is pursuing a BA. Her landmark Bharatanatyam performance, which began on July 21 and concluded a week later on July 28, was held at the college’s Robert Sequeira Hall. 

After her performance, Pereira was awarded with a ‘Certificate of Excellence’ by Manish Vishnoei, the head of the Golden Book of World Records. Vishnoei also praised Pereira for the ground-breaking achievement.

“Bharatanatyam is a dance form that’s difficult, yet Remona took up the challenge and danced for 10,200 minutes with curtailed breaks and rest, which is almost impossible to achieve by many,” he said, as reported by the Deccan Herald. Pereira reportedly only took 15 minute breaks every three hours.

Before Pereira, the longest Bharatanatyam performance record was 127 hours, held by Sudhir Jagtap. However, she surpassed this record by dancing for more than 40 additional hours, setting the bar even higher.

However, this show-stopping performer has long been a record-breaker. For instance, in 2023, Pereira was given the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, the highest civil honour award for children in India, by Prime Minister Modi himself.

In conversation with Modi, he asked Perieria, “At the age of 3, you started practising dance. How did you continuously motive yourself? Did family members insist or did you have the determination?” he asked, according to ANI news. Pereira said her mother has been an inspiration.

Her delighted mother, Gladis Celine, said, “I stood by her side at every step of her Bharatanatyam journey through every crest and thought that life posed to them. My heart swells with pride to see my daughter’s dream come true. Her efforts have paid off and I couldn’t have wished for anything better for her,” according to Deccan Herald.