When she was 13, Mariamal dreamed of learning Bharatanatyam. However, she could not pursue dance as classes were unaffordable. Now 50, Mariamal is finally living her dream, learning Bharatanatyam at ...

Before her students arrived at the bright and airy dance studio called Kala Vandanam in St. Paul's St. Anthony Park neighborhood, Suchitra Sairam reflected about her unusual journey from dancer to ...

Esha enters her first Bharatanatyam class hoping to wear a costume and perform on stage very soon or make a video for YouTube like her friend. She has been watching her sister dance and wishes to ...

The floors shine in Sairam’s St. Paul dance studio. In order to reach it, she has to descend a narrow stairway into a brightly-painted basement. It’s perfect studio space, Sairam said. She and her ...

During the academic school year, Devika Gates can often be found in a classroom at Spokane Falls Community College teaching chemistry. When school's not in session, however, she trades the chem lab ...

When Arthy Ahmed launched her Bharatanatyam class in Dhaka, many in the classical dance circuit saw it as a side project at best, and a waste of time at worst. "They told me, don't spend your energy ...

The life of a teenager, especially a closeted one, is filled with confusion – dance was one thing that always made sense. "Every little brown girl does at least a bit of traditional dancing," I say to ...