{"id":18184,"date":"2020-08-04T15:51:26","date_gmt":"2020-08-04T10:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.reachivy.com\/?post_type=post&p=18184"},"modified":"2025-03-07T16:28:01","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T10:58:01","slug":"house-of-experts-ep17-vibha-kagzi-in-conversation-with-shehzeen-cassum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reachivy.com\/blog\/House-of-Experts-Ep17-Vibha-Kagzi-in-conversation-with-Shehzeen-Cassum","title":{"rendered":"House of Experts Ep. 17: Vibha Kagzi & Shehzeen Cassum"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Shehzeen\u00a0Cassum\"
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House of Experts<\/a> is a show that\u00a0ReachIvy\u00a0kick-started to help those who are unclear about their career choices. We hope through these sessions with some very successful people, we can shed light on a new career path every week. House of Experts plans to make a collection of interactive and informative sessions with experts from various domains.
\nVibha Kagzi,\u00a0the host,\u00a0is the Founder and CEO of ReachIvy.com, a premium study abroad and career consultancy organization. Vibha, a Harvard alumna, is a successful entrepreneur and believes in helping others chalk out their future careers.<\/p>\n

In Episode 17 of House of Experts, we were fortunate to host\u00a0Shehzeen\u00a0Cassum,\u00a0the pioneer of Flamenco in India. She is the\u00a0Founder of the\u00a0Shehzeen\u00a0Cassum<\/a>\u00a0Flamenco Academy (SCFA) and Namaste Flamenco.
\nShe has trained in the heart of\u00a0Andalusia, and\u00a0spent over 14 years learning from various Flamenco Gurus in Southern Spain.
\nShe began her professional training in the\u00a0birth place\u00a0of flamenco: Jerez de la\u00a0Fontera, and now lives between Mumbai and Sevilla, the contemporary Flamenco capital of the world.
\nOver the years\u00a0Shehzeen\u00a0has trained under several prominent maestros of Flamenco, and retains the authenticity, technique and bold expression of the dance form. Through her dance academy \u2014 SCFA,\u00a0Shehzeen\u00a0invites international artists, musicians and maestros of this art form to India in order to inspire, elevate and grow the Flamenco community here.<\/p>\n

Some excerpts from the interview:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Tell us about your childhood and your educational background.\u00a0<\/strong>
\nI\u2019ve always maintained a bifurcated life- one has been academics, and the other, dance. All my life, these are the two trajectories I\u2019ve balanced and they both have been interconnected. I always have had strong role models setting an example for me. From the age of 4 and a half, I auditioned to be a part of ballet school. That\u2019s when my training started very seriously. My parents have been into performing arts, and that is how the influence of performing arts played a role in my life. They always encouraged me to try new things. Since school, I loved Science and was all set to do medicine, and eventually, I gave up Dentistry to pursue dance. I love to test everything before I commit to it so that I have no regrets later.<\/p>\n

2) How did the transition from Ballet to Flamenco happen?\u00a0<\/strong>
\nFor over a decade, I was really into Ballet and had a couple of crossings with Flamenco artists. I used to visit the NCPA to watch different performances. My teacher used to give us exposure to different Western classical dance forms\u00a0to\u00a0increase our latitudinal thinking. I always believe that it\u2019s the environment and the artist that can inspire you. A similar crossing happened with a Flamenco artist when I was 16. She asked to me come to Spain for a Flamenco festival, and that\u2019s how it started. I was amazed by the life in Spain. I couldn\u2019t speak in Spanish at all, and it was difficult, but I felt I was made for this.<\/p>\n

3) What are the fundamentals of Flamenco training, and what are the characteristics a Flamenco dancer must-have?<\/strong>
\nFlamenco is made up of 4 ingredients- raw vocals, guitar, dance and percussion. Usually, people pick anyone as all of them are very deep disciplines. Even though it has been 15 years in this art form, I still consider myself a student. Along with dance, I\u2019ve also been training in singing and percussion. It helps me choreograph, design, and teach better. It\u2019s very useful to put yourself in someone else\u2019s shoes.<\/p>\n

4) Do you think this a lucrative career?<\/strong>
\nMany parents are worried that if their children go into a creative field, there won\u2019t be a constant source of income. I feel that the equilibrium of our lives is precarious and that every profession has that element of uncertainty. You should identify what you\u2019re good at and being consistent about it is very important. The ability to adapt and be relevant during changing times is also very important. If you\u2019re committed and passionate, you can\u00a0definitely earn\u00a0well in the profession. Investing in good equipment and in your art will help you focus back on your art. It\u2019s like a cycle.<\/p>\n

5) What would you like to advise people who are considering this career?<\/strong>
\nThere are definite moments when you question if you’re doing the right thing. In Spain, I\u2019ve been through a lot of difficulties. There are always going to be highs and lows that we can\u2019t anticipate. I feel it\u2019s important to adapt gracefully. Having gratitude at the end of the day is also essential.\u00a0There\u2019s a lot of fulfillment that the art form provides, and all of us are looking for that. If you\u2019re lucky enough to have found it early in your life, taking a moment\u00a0to acknowledge that is great. I feel it is the art form that chooses you. Stay humble and keep going.<\/p>\n

This conversation was very enlightening, and we are truly grateful to\u00a0Shehzeen\u00a0for sharing her journey imparting her knowledge with us.<\/p>\n

Looking for career guidance? Reach out to us TODAY<\/a>!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>House of Experts is a show that\u00a0ReachIvy\u00a0kick-started to help those who are unclear about their career choices. We hope through these sessions with some very successful people, we can shed light on a new career path every week. House of Experts plans to make a collection of interactive and informative sessions with experts from various…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":18185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[758,298],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-house-of-experts","category-career-guidance"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reachivy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reachivy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reachivy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reachivy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reachivy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18184"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.reachivy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22295,"href":"https:\/\/www.reachivy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18184\/revisions\/22295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reachivy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reachivy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reachivy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reachivy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}