(jewelry rattling) (feet tapping) - It's a power of, like, adrenalin, just like rushing through.

It's like when you go on stage, you see everybody, but, like, at the same time, you see nobody, because it's all, like, they're all black and screen, but the adrenalin when the music starts or if someone's singing it, I just can't describe it.

(jewelry rattling) (feet tapping) - There are many different Indian classical dances.

Bharatanatyam originated from the South.

It's from Thanjai.

- [Samyuktha] It's a very traditional Indian classical dance that's been passed down for generations and it's a very beautiful and divine art form.

- 2,000 years back, you know, Bharatanatyam was only coined about seven decades back, that name, it was called a Sadir, is what it was called.

And it was mainly danced by the courtesans or the handmaidens of God who were in the temple.

They were dedicated to the God and there were dancers for each rituals in the temple.

That's how it all started.

It's like ballet, you know, it takes years of rigorous training.

It's huge.

There's so much to learn.

And I find myself in it, which is why I've been doing this for the longest, you know, time and I've been teaching for 40 years, and I think it's only because I have that respect for that art form and I have that passion for the art form and I really teach true to my heart to the students because I want this divine art form to be handed to the next generations.

(lively music) (lively music) I owe it to my mom.

My mom learned Bharatanatyam when she was younger, so she took me to my guru who was a dhwani, who was a dhwani of the Thanjai traditional form of Bharatanatyam.

In those days, even then he had about 200 students.

I was very blessed because I was one of his very rare private students that could have one-on-one class with him.

So it all started there.

So I owe it all to my mom and my dad, to my parents.

For the longest time, I was a solo performer, but then when I had my daughter, there came a time when I had to step back a little bit.

That's when my mother encouraged me to start teaching.

I just love it.

I love performing and now I love teaching as much.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - I got started with dance when I lived in India and I would have friends that used to go to dance and do Bharatanatyam, but once I actually started dancing, I loved dancing.

I really, really enjoyed dancing.

You get to be yourself.

I'll admit, it's hard.

When you first start, it's definitely hard.

It's gonna tire you out and your muscles are gonna be sore, but if you persevere and keep, and go through it, you'll have a good journey in the end, because you will learn a lot more about culture, like different cultures, but you'll also learn a lot about yourself through this journey.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) I think to preserve this dance form is needed because it's a very sacred dance form that I think should be kept in this world, and I think that the better it is if more people learn about it because there's so much to learn about it, so much to explore in it, and it's truly amazing when you actually know how to do the dance and the feel when you dance is really, really awesome.

And second of all, it helps me with my culture.

It helps me connect to my culture a lot more.

As a person who's living in the US and not in India right now, there's so many things that I don't know culturally that people do over there, so I think doing dance helps me, in a form, to connect to my culture and connect to my family back in India, - Every time I teach a student and they dance and they teach others, it's a part of me that they take with them.

You know, I feel like a part of me is kept alive.

Even if I don't dance, somebody else is doing that, and keeping that tradition alive.

You know, the tradition of my guru alive, the tradition of this beautiful, antique divine art form alive.

So I can't talk enough about it.

(chuckles) You know, take the interest to learn it, persevere through it.

Don't give up.

Don't lose sight of the goal.

Keep that in mind and keep going, keep going, keep going.

And the joy that comes from it is something that will be valued and it's a joy that they will find in their life all the time.

Let this art form live forever.

(lively music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues)