“It’s the need of the hour, don’t you think?” asked Virieno Zakiesato (Christina) after the final class of a three-day body awareness workshop which she had mentored. Virieno is a performing artist (dancer, choreographer) who is in Dimapur to conduct the workshop designed to quiet your mind and listen to your body, observe the patterns and habits within your body and mind, and discover your well-being through your body language. For the participants, there was no prior dance experience required. Explaining why she felt the need to conduct a body awareness workshop, the independent dance-maker says that when she comes home to Dimapur, she felt the lack of parks and the basic amenities required for people to take a break from their hectic lifestyles. “Nagas are mountain people and used to lead an active life but right now the situation in Dimapur and other districts is like any other metro with the condition of the roads and traffic. Also, we are so caught up with technology and living sedentary lifestyles. This problem is all over the world, but it’s time for Nagaland to start waking up,” she opined. She elaborates, “We are going away from our bodies. People forget that the body has its own language and intelligence. As a dancer, I want to help educate and create this awareness. The workshop on the awareness of the body is about approaching your body as a "thinking body". If the body is aware, you become a conscious being. You want to start developing a sense of wellbeing for yourself and doesn't that start with said awareness of the body? If we start trusting our "body's intelligence", we will be gentler with ourselves and in listening, taking care of our needs, reaffirming and recognising our body habits.” Virieno has been dancing professionally for several years and has performed in India and abroad. Her foundational training is Ballet, Jazz and Contemporary Movement Arts from Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore. She has performed with the Nagaland Folkloric Group for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Festival 2014 and was associated with the International Center for Cultural Studies, USA, as a part of the Nagaland Folkloric Group cultural exchange, in 2014. She also had the distinction of opening the National Hornbill dance competition, performing a solo contemporary ballet, 2013. Her passion for dance developed when she was a little girl. Taking it up as a hobby, eventually there was no turning back! However it’s never easy, she says and adds, “I ask questions even now! It’s not an easy profession, having to dance from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm requires a lot of work, dedication and passion. With dance, it’s a never-ending learning process and always room for improvement.” How supportive were her parents towards her choice of career? She responds, “With every dancer it’s always a challenge to let your family know you want to take up dance as a career but with every step I take, I believe I’m doing justice and when they see I’m hundred per cent committed in what I’m doing, that for them is a reassurance.”