Student teaches Bollywood dance at local libraries
By Monika Lee
Photos by Sunita Upadhyayula
The term “Bollywood” comes from a combination of “Bombay,” which is now known as Mumbai, and “Hollywood.” The exciting, fast-paced dance style associated with this form of cinema may have originated in India, but it is now popular all over the world. Bollywood dance combines different styles including bhangra (a traditional folk dance of Punjab area in India), hip-hop, Arabic and jazz dance. Local student and Bollywood dancer, Anusha Upadhyayula, is conducting free Bollywood dance workshops for people 12 years and up at various South Bay libraries. She is teaching a workshop in the Milpitas Library in July.
Upadhyayula is the captain of the Bollywood dance team at Presentation High School in San Jose. Growing up she bonded with her family while watching Bollywood movies together. Upadhyayula especially loved the dancing scenes. She watched the movies over and over and eventually started learning the steps. She often spent hours a day boogying to the Bollywood beats. Upadhyayula does not come from a dancing family—her mother told her most of the family has two left feet and that she is pleasantly surprised Upadhyayula has become such an accomplished dancer.
As Upadhyayula grew up and encountered more people outside of the South Asian community, she was surprised many people did not know much about her culture and Bollywood. She was inspired to bridge that cultural gap by teaching Bollywood dance. She calls her organization BollyBE and the catchphrase is “BollyBE: Be fit, be jolly.”
“When we listen to a song, regardless of the language, the human body naturally responds, whether it’s tapping feet or swaying to the rhythm. Rhythm, music and dance transcend language barriers and cultural divides,” Upadhyayula said. “The BollyBE dance workshops strive to bring a sense of diversity and awareness into the community, allowing people to learn more about South Asian culture in an active way, while having fun and celebrating the rich heritage it represents.” Upadhyayula pitched her idea of conducting Bollywood dance workshops to local libraries and convinced them her classes would be a valuable addition to their offered events.
A challenge she has had with teaching the dance workshops is catering to the students’ varying experience levels. Some of her students are from the South Asian community and have a background in Bollywood dancing while others are still brand new.
Upadhyayula starts each class with a warm-up and slowly adds dance steps, gaging each class individually as to how quickly she can progress. This makes every class accessible to people with no experience. Each class in a workshop features different dances so classes are self-contained and don’t build on the previous class. This allows students to come to any of the individual classes in the series or join all of them.
Upadhyayula invites people 12 years and up to groove to Bollywood music and learn the fusion of dance steps that is Bollywood Dance. Her next upcoming class is at Morgan Hill Library, and she teaches at various locations in the Santa Clara Library system, including in San Jose and Milpitas.
No prior experience or registration is required. Just dress comfortably, bring a bottle of water and enjoy dancing to the rhythm.
Bollywood Dance Workshops
Monday, July 22
7pm – 9pm
Morgan Hill Library
660 West Main Ave., Morgan Hill
(408) 779-3196
FREE – no registration required
