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and New Zealand. With the support of her husband, body, that you’re alone,” said Eden. “But everybody I Anis Roshan, she started Indigo Dance Evolution Academy about 18 months ago in Cary. She now see is very friendly.” Azeb agrees and tells how when she got lost in leads classes at area community centers and for corporate clients that include Cisco and NetApp. Cary, a police officer helped her find her way. “Dance has been my life since the age of 3,” she “I thought he was going to give me a ticket,” she said. “He asked me, ‘What happened?’ And I said, said. “I’ve dabbled in many different dance forms ‘I’m going the wrong way. I’m lost.’ He said, ‘Follow in India, but Bollywood seems to have captured the imagination of the world.” me.’ And he took me where I was going!” She offers classes for all ages, She laughs at the story, as if from elementary school to seshe still can’t believe her luck that “Being a niors. She also offers “workout day. But the sisters don’t spend in style” routines, combining aerobic much time looking back. The futhis community, moves of Indian classical and folk ture is much too bright. dances with Zumba set to up-tem“The only thing I miss is friends there has been po Bollywood music. Cultural lesand some family,” said Azeb. “Other nothing like it. sons are mixed with choreography than that, I got everything here.” This has opened to help her students understand awazecuisine.com up everything for and master the moves. The camaraderie of dance Priya Chellani me.” and music has helped Priya make Priya Chellani wants to build – Priya Chellani, friends and promote connections bridges with dance and music. dance instructor among her students. When she first arrived in Cary “Being a teacher in this comin 2011, she noticed that Indian dance was restricted to the ethnic communities here. munity, there has been nothing like it. This has But as a lifelong dancer, Priya wanted to share her opened up everything for me,” she said. With interest in her classes blossoming, Priya is passion with bigger audiences. “I can offer this to the wider community,” she pleased with where she has finally landed. The laidsaid. “I don’t want to restrict it just to my own, be- back pace of life in Cary, its abundant natural beauty, cause that’s boring. When you come to a foreign and the community’s acceptance of foreign cultures country, you don’t come there to go from your little have her feeling at home. “After all the boxes I’ve Indian village to a little Indian ghetto. You want to packed and unpacked, all the containers that have carried my cargo from one country to another, this is be out there in the world, sharing your skills.” Priya studied classical Indian dance as a child the end of the road for me,” she said. “This is the end in Bandra, India, a suburb of Mumbai. She has been of the journey. This is where I will call home.” priyachellani.com teaching since 1986, first in India, then in Dubai
Anis Roshan/Your Friendly Photographer
teacher
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MAY 2015
Priya Chellani leads a Bollywood-style “flash mob” on April 2 at Cisco to celebrate Holi, the Indian festival of color.