mangaluru cashing in on the growing popularity of the traditional pili vesha or huli vesha tiger dance ramesh mijar of kalashree bedra who has been managing a pili vesha troupe for the last 19 years will soon launch a formal pili vesha training programme for students aged between 320he said that this is probably a firstofitskind training programme for children being launched along the coast after yakshagana and kambala the introduction of pili vesha training is crucial in preserving the art and culture of tulunadu the classes will be held for boys in the age group of 320 and for girls between 315 the training programme will cover all aspects of pili vesha including teaching 15 different types of stunts acrobats he said mijar said that the demand and popularity of the tiger dance is growing with every passing year we have seen several competitions for tiger dance troupes held not only in the city but also at the taluk level during dasara many youths are taking the dance form seriously and we are also observing the growing interest among girls many girls across undivided dakshina kannada district have performed the dance whenever they have been given an opportunity this growing interest has inspired me to launch classes we have roped in shetty harish polali who trained the polali tigers that won the pili nalike event five times to train the budding artistes the classes will be held during the weekends for two hours and students will be taught every aspect of the dance including its history evolution music and painting other than its steps and stunts involved he said the art form is receiving tremendous support across the state and nation and many artists are getting an opportunity to perform on various platforms for instance at the global cultural jamboree 2022 to be hosted jointly by the bharat scouts and guides karnataka district scouts and guides and alvas education foundation in december more than 200 artistes are expected to perform the tiger dance mijar said