Meyitemsu Naga of Chuchuyimlang village grew up in Alempang ward, Mokokchung, Nagaland and became the first ever Naga dancer to represent Nagaland in one of the biggest reality shows, India’s Best Dancer 2, which was telecast on Sony TV in 2021.
According to Temsu, dancing has been a part of his life as he watched the dancers dance their heart out in the reality TV shows. “I would drool over those fancy moves and it really has impacted me in becoming what I am today,” he said.
Starting his schooling at Hill View Higher Secondary School, he passed out his high school from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) Mokokchung, and after that, he joined Mayangnokcha Govt. Higher Secondary School for his higher studies.
To him, dancing is an art which brings out an individual’s emotion and character with each genre having its own unique twist in bringing out the real person inside. “For me, Lyrical, Animation, and Robotic are a few which helps me to express and bring out the real fire from within, ” he shared.
Despite being passionate about dancing from an early age, due to the lack of support he was unable to pursue his dreams but finally at the age of 11 he took a risk and decided to take up dancing as a career.
“I have participated in a lot of dance competitions all around Nagaland but the biggest stage was when I participated in the dance competition organized by DNF Studio & FAB Affairs in Mokokchung, where Sir Pradeep Gurung came to judge the competition. It was one of my biggest accomplishments and driving force that kept me dancing and helped me reach the mile-stone of India’s Best Dancer Season 2. It still feels like a dream,” he said.
Speaking more on his journey to India’s Best Dancer Second Season, he said he got the news through social media. “I got the news from social media that the second season of India’s Best Dancer audition will be held through digital online audition. So I took the opportunity and posted my videos and there I got selected. I was then called up and invited for the live Audition in Kolkata,” he elaborated.
He became the first Naga dancer to represent Nagaland in one of the biggest dance reality shows (India’s Best Dancer) which he considers to be one of his greatest achievement.
“To see the love, support and generosity from our people was just beyond my expectation,” he opined.
He also advice the aspiring dancers to keep God as their main priority and never be discouraged by failures but continue to fight to reach their goals.
“Growing up in a society where dancers were not appreciated for their hard work and skills, I was always motivated to work harder and bring a ray of hope for the dancers not only in my neighborhood but to the whole of Nagaland. I still remember the day when I dropped out of class 12 and took up dancing as a career and I promised my parents that one day I will be performing on National television. My father has played an important role and as my greatest support in helping me achieve my goals. He never hesitated to help me, maybe, because he understood what I was going through. He himself was a sportsman when he was young but due to lack of support from his parents, he couldn’t fulfill his goal and so he tried his best to make sure I did not have the same experience as him,” said Temsu.
In a message to the readers, he said there are a lot he loves to share among which becoming the change was one he encouraged.
“There are a lot of things I want and love to share with all the readers. Let me share some of my view points. Our people keep talking about bringing change to our life and society but in order to achieve that, we need to be the change. We have a lot of talented individuals in our state, not only in the field of dance but in various field but due to lack of support, we are lacking behind. We need to move forward and support each other and hope that one day we can bring more hope for our coming generations.
Last but not the least, if we keep depending on the Government and various groups, we will never be able to achieve anything in life. Thank you and always have faith in God and let Him guide your way,” he concluded.