GRANT High School student Gajanan Frost has stepped outside his comfort zone to blend his Indian and Australian heritage in a unique cabaret performance.
His seven-minute stage show was the finale to an intensive performing arts course hosted in Adelaide, which culminated with his appearance at Adelaide’s Cabaret Festival and opened up doors for his future.
Speaking to The Border Watch, Gajanan said nerves kicked in at the eleventh-hour before his performance – which was in front of around 300 people – but he enjoyed the overall experience.
“You do get nervous. If you don’t then there is generally something wrong,” Gajanan laughed.
“Nerves are a good thing with performing and they always come just minutes before you go on stage.”
Despite the nerves, Gajanan said the performance was one he would never forget, basing it around identity and home.
For Gajanan, home can be either India or Australia following his adoption at the age of two.
“The main centre of my performance was ‘yes I come from India, but I call Australia home and call myself an Australian’,” he said.
“There were certain moves because of the songs that I chose which are traditionally and stereotypical Indian.
“My coach and I decided to include them in my performance to break it up a little and provide a bit more context.”
Gajanan blended songs such as Still Call Australia Home alongside Jai Ho and You’re the Voice for his performance.
“The most challenging thing was trying to balance the course with day-to-day life, as well as travelling to and from Adelaide without missing out on too much school work,” he said.
“My parents were great because they would take time off work to bring me to the classes and they really did encourage me the entire time.”
Gajanan has since decided to pursue music production and the performing arts as a career option, in particular the art of cabaret.
“You can break the fourth wall which usually means an interaction with the audience,” he said.
“It is just story-telling and having a story to tell is the best part of cabaret.
“You can do different twists but mainly you are telling a story that you can convey to people and you can open up to them.
“You practice as much as you can and no matter how much you practice you can never quite prepare yourself for on stage and if you perform in front of three different crowds it is guaranteed you are going to get three different reactions.”
With guidance from world-class cabaret performers as well as his coaches, Gajanan hopes to use his skills and adapt them into his local acting performances.
“I am going to be taking all the knowledge I have now to the school’s musical this year,” he said.
“Singing-wise, my teacher is always there making me that little bit better, so going to Adelaide I took everything she has taught me and now I can bring home everything I have learnt in Adelaide and improve even more.”
Gajanan is now focused on completing high school before moving to the city for university study.
