Anushka Noubad

Confessions of an insecure South Asian dancer 💌

A vivid memory I have: me being 4 or 5 watching Bharatanatyam on stage for the first time at a festival. It truly was love at first sight.

Fast forward, I remember telling my mom I didn’t want to do Bharatanatyam anymore (the main style of dance I had been learning). I think a big reason stemmed from a sense of insecurity I developed as a dancer. I wanted to be seen as a “real dancer,” especially being surrounded by the western dance world. When I was introduced to other styles, I had regrets of pouring so much time into Indian styles of dance because I didn’t feel good enough and I didn’t feel like my abilities were widely recognized, translated well or even real. I was so obviously wrong (and I know, these feelings weren’t entirely my fault!)

I’m not a fan of admitting my insecurities but seeing the representation of South Asian art in western media lately has reminded me of my love/hate/love relationship with Bharatanatyam. So, I thought I’d share something I know some have felt in some capacity 🫶🏽

(Well now it’s all love 😙)

#indianclassicaldance #bharatanatyamdancer #southasianart #motivational #dancerlife [southasian, dancer, dancerlife, storytime, personalstory, aboutme, dancestory, desidance, motivation, kaliyaan, bestofthebest]