Freshman Priyanka Choudhuri dances her way through life

By Tiffany Feng

Staff Writer

Dancing her way through life, Mira Costa freshman Priyanka Choudhuri practices a traditional form of Indian dance, Odissi.  

Choudhuri began her dancing career when she was 6 years old. The Odissi style of dance has been passed down through her family for many generations, starting with her grandmother who taught her mother, who in turn taught Choudhuri. As Choudhuri began to grow and started showing a true interest in the art, she was enrolled at a local studio where she learned new techniques.

Link: Learn more about the history of Odissi dance

“I have been dancing for so long, I feel as if I’ve been doing it my whole life,” Choudhuri said. “I really enjoy this unique kind of dancing; it is very different from other styles, which is one of the reasons I continue to practice it and love it.”

Choudhuri currently dances at Quest Dance Studio, a studio in the city of Artesia where she dances with girls from different high schools in Los Angeles. Every Saturday, the girls come together for a morning practice in which they practice for upcoming performances and learn new dances. Performances usually take place once a month so each practice has to be an intense workout session in order to cram in all the new moves, Choudhuri said.

“I like that each step you take in this style of dancing is like a pose, very sharp and defined, but it can also be very smooth and slow,” Choudhuri said. “I don’t enjoy the lengths of the routines because I can get tired very easily, but luckily I have built up stamina over the years that helps to keep me going.”

Choudhuri’s most recent performance was on October 1st at the 3rd Annual International Street Fair and Diversity Festival in Artesia, California. This fair offered visitors a chance to experience diversity through cultural performances, music, international cuisine, shopping, arts and crafts, and a zone for kids, Choudhuri says. After the opening ceremony, Choudhuri and her team performed a dance in which the routine incorporated a mix of aggressive footwork and crisp body movements, Choudhuri says.

Link: Learn more about the Cultural Festival in Artesia

“I think we danced pretty well that night, we had been practicing really hard on this specific routine for a long time before the actual performance and it really paid off,” Choudhuri said. “When I know a specific part and practice it a lot, I feel more confident during that part of the performance because it becomes muscle memory.”

Choudhuri’s decision to dance Odissi has been strongly supported by her family, Choudhuri said. Though not unexpected because it has been passed down many generations, her choice to continue this tradition is greatly appreciated by her mother who first introduced Choudhuri to Odissi, said her mother Reshmi Dutta, who is a cultural dance play director.

“Because she’s into dancing, I am motivated to keep choreographing, directing and teaching Eastern dances for various shows and fundraisers,” Dutta said. “She is involved and it brings us both closer to each other as mother & daughter.”

Choudhuri has been practicing Odissi for 8 years, and hopes to continue to learn and practice it throughout her college and adult life. Still, any future dancing that she does will solely be as a hobby and not as the main focus for her career, Choudhuri said. Choudhuri feels that dancing later in life will not only benefit her physically to stay in shape, but it will also impact her positively on a cultural aspect by keeping her connected to her family’s roots.

“You must have a lot of strength to do this particular style of dance,” Choudhuri said. “In doing so, I have learned to be much stronger mentally and physically. Dancing has impacted my life immensely; it’s what I love to do, and hopefully I will continue to do it for the rest of my life.”