India, Oct. 8 -- She was 26 when she received the news of her father's death in a train accident. "I had to identify the body, get the post-mortem done, and perform the last rites. Three days later, I took to stage to perform at a festival in Mathura. My heart was crying, but I was dancing," recounts Kathak exponent Shovana Narayan, vividly describing how her devotion to dance drives her spirit to keep going. With the same determination, she has chosen the theme of this year's LalitArpan Festival as Antah-Shakti: Courage and Hope. This theme is evident in how the 24th edition of this fest has been curated; a line-up of artistes who perform pirouettes on stage with poise and exhibit immense resilience off it. "Dance gives you the power to move ahead, because whenever I dance, I only dance for God," says Kathak danseuse and cancer survivor Nrityashree Alaknanda, who will present her choreography on Rabindranath Tagore's Ekla Cholo Re on day one. The second day will witness yet another exploration of the power of dance as Kathak dancer Akshobhya Bhardwaj will present Paryaka. "This is the story of a person who understands that he is a woman, from inside. People tell him different things, but he stabilises himself through dance and music," says Bhardwaj, who is still fighting cancer. "Dance is sadhna for me... Whenever I'm undergoing surgery or therapy, I try to understand that my body is facing this pain but my soul isn't because it's in sadhna," he shares. Narayan adds, "Not many know but the doctors had initially given Akshobhya a time of three months to live. It's been three years since... That's the power of classical dance."...