May 2016 - Blog Post 1

I am an active dancer in the art of Bharatnatyam, and I have been since fourth grade (so I am going into my ninth year). Prior to that, I did ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop at the downtown Greensboro Cultural Arts Center! I practice Bharatnatyam every Sunday morning for an hour with my wonderful teacher, Veena Argade, and my great dance partner (Janavi Mehta, one of the many classmates I have had over the years). Bharatnatyam is a type of classical Indian dance and it is something I thoroughly enjoy because the dances are complex, yet so meaningful and I feel a lot closer with my culture when participating in it. I am working towards achieving my Arangetram which is a grand performance (sort of like a graduation where you have to book a stage, typically at a school, hire catering, hire photographers, and invite lots of friends and family to see what is supposed to be your official introduction into performing) where you perform ten dances for a few hours, by yourself, to represent that you are officially ready to perform in public. I only have three dances left to learn this summer before I can finally set up and organize my Arangetram! I have learned an incredible amount from this dance class: I learned how to work on my toes to create new dances, I learned how to work diligently, I learned how to manage my time, and I have become much more disciplined because of the strictness of the art. Dancing is a side passion of mine and I am so happy to be able to participate in this beautiful dance with ties to my cultural background. (I have actually attached a picture to one of my first dances and a picture from a recent one)