It only takes two feet on the ground to unearth centuries of tradition and identity. Dance has long served the South Asian diaspora as a prominent reference point for culture and richly influences the surfacing generation of South Asians Australians.
However, as worlds tend to collide for children of two cultures in Australia, dance can no longer be defined to styles we see on stages and in cinema in South Asia.
This episode features three South Asian Australian dancers and carries insights from their personal stories of finding themselves through the art form.
Get to know our guests:
Sivamsan Senthilvasan: 21-year-old Sivamsan Senthilvasan is helping surface Australia's community of Kuthu dancers but is also shattering biases being a male Bharatnatyam dancer. The Sri Lankan Tamil Australian has already taken his love for South Indian dance styles around Australia with his workshops and is currently directing his first dance competition Dandanakka Darrna.
Shyamla: Founder of fusion arts company Bindi Bosses, Shyamla has had a professional dance career spanning over 24 years. From tap dance to Brazillian Samba, Shyamla has danced on many stages across the world but is now tapping their toes to traditional South Asian dance styles to deepen the connection to their Indo-Fijian Tamil identity.
Anjana Chandran: Malayali Australian Anjana Chandran started her dance journey learning Bharatnatyam but is now empowered to explore beyond her traditional roots. Her choreography embracing feminine passion and sensuality has made her an internet sensation, but her workshops have grounded her to her community in both India and Australia.
Tap the audio player to listen to the full interview.
SBS Spice breaks new ground with English language content for young South Asians in Australia by exploring what is making us tick or ick. Find us in your podcast app such as the SBS Audio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or LiSTNR and follow us on Instagram @SBSSpice
