India is a country praised for the exotic cuisine and entertaining Bollywood movies, though their exquisite dancing is often overlooked. Ranging from choreographed dances to solo dances, India has produced various admirable dance styles.

Everyone has their own reasons for starting and sticking with something. Senior Aditi Kulkarni started classical Indian dance at the ripe young age of five: “my mom thought I needed a way to connect to Indian heritage,” Kulkarni said. Since then, she has progressed and improved tremendously. Two summers ago, she had her “Arangetram, a solo debut of an Indian classical dancer. It’s a two hour performance,” Kulkarni said. Although the arangetram is not a requirement in her dance classes, completion grants dancers the ability to perform alone and train other dancers.

“If I had to give on piece of advice to aspiring dancers, it would be to not give up,” Kulkarni said. “Especially in the beginning, it can get really rigorous but learning the basics is essential to success in the future.” Now, she is teaching Bollywood dancing at the School of Indian Language and Culture.