“I’ve been fortunate enough to have found that one art form that drives me the most in life- dance! What started as a hobby, has today, transformed my life in ways I can’t imagine. I would actively participate in various events that popped up in school. My mom used to send me to the dance classes when I was 5 years old. She was a teacher by profession and she used to stand for hours backstage waiting for me throughout the dance practice. When I was very young, I started doing shows in Delhi, Agra, and NCR and eventually started to train and teach dance professionally.
When I was 18, I left my house and moved to Hyderabad to pursue a professional career in dance and choreography. This was in the year 2011 and simultaneously I pursued my distance education in my graduation. I used to perform at various cultural events and later started working with an International school as a dance teacher.
The initial difficulties were of course there, the language, food, and cultural shock. I did face a lot of racism initially as a young girl, moving from the North to settle in the South being alone. But then I knew what I wanted to do in life and slowly was able to settle here. After that, I started getting into wedding events and choreography as well.
In 2014, I trained myself in Latin dance. I started learning Salsa, Bachata and now, I am totally into Latin dance and Bollywood as well. There were a lot of memories during my stint working as a dance teacher in school but this one incident will always be a memorable moment for me. There was a girl named Esha who was from class 6. I choreographed a small skit along with the dance where I represented the aspect of female foeticide. It was a skit and dance together where we portrayed a story on Save the Girl Child. And the response we received from the audience is unimaginable. That made me so emotional and proud. Later I figured out that I can convey a lot of stories through my art. I started spending time with a lot of young children, meeting them and supporting them in whatever way I can.
In 2017, I started practicing Buddhism and it has changed my life completely. A few years later, I went to Rishikesh to practice yoga. From there I went on to do Vipassana at the meditation camp. It’s truly a life-enriching experience for me.
After that, I started taking mindfulness sessions, and side by side I was doing my events and dance classes together. And then, I started a company called Nach Baliye along with my brother where we look after the Sangeet events and choreography. Very recently, I started ALS (Afro Latin Socials) which is an initiative to grow the Afro-Latin community and social dancing experience.
Today, I play multiple roles; as a dancer, choreographer, mixtape instructor, mindfulness coach, yogini, and also an event manager. I’ve grown manifolds, transforming my interest from a hobby to a passion to finally, a full-time profession. And with numerous achievements and recognition to my credit today, all that mattered was the will.
If I have to reflect on the learnings, all I want to say, especially to the girls is never give up on your dreams. Be expressive and stand up for yourselves in life. Don’t get scared with the challenges in life, fight for your rights and stand by what you believe in life. Of course, nothing comes easy. It will take time to taste success but one should never stop believing in themselves.”