By Eleanor Wilson
Sahana Rudresh said she was born with an interest in Bollywood dance.
For friend and fellow student Kohana, it was a matter of expanding her horizons beyond the scope of academia.
The pair attend Berwick’s Nossal High School, regarded as one of the best government schools in the state.
But the selective-entry school is slowly branching out from its strong academic foundation, and Sahana and Kohana are at the cusp.
The Year 12 students are captains and choreographers of the school’s Bollywood Club – a niche extracurricular offering in its own right.
The club has several dozen members who regularly perform colourful Bollywood dance performances at school assemblies and community events throughout Berwick.
In late August, the club ventured to Williamstown to compete in the High School Dance Competition – a statewide freestyle dance contest using Bollywood dance music and styles.
The theme ‘life goes on’ guided the group’s five minute routine; an intricate medley of upbeat Bollywood tunes, modern pop music and theatrical Bollywood ballads.
They returned home with a silver medal.
“At a school that might seem like it’s solely focused on academia, just doing those extracurriculars, joining that club was something that I thought would help me connect even more deeply with my culture,” Kohana said.
“It’s a very proud moment for me to see our school having a club like this, which isn’t very common in other schools, is kind of starting to branch out and we’re having that influence on others. It’s really good to see that.”
Sahana’s experience with Indian dancing takes her back to her earliest memories, dancing along to Bollywood songs her mother would play for her on the television.
When she was 10, she joined a classical dance school which taught bharatanatyam, a traditional Indian dance style.
It was there, she said, she discovered the first inkling of her passion for Bollywood.
“At first I was hesitant because I was leaning towards more modern dancing, but my mum put me into this cultural art form and so I learned a lot of traditional concepts,” she said.
“That really helped me understand the tie between Bollywood and its roots and that encouraged me to pursue dance.”
People of Indian ancestry make up 9.3 per cent of Casey residents, the most prevalent heritage outside of English and Australian, so perhaps it is not so surprising that local students are finding interest in activites beyond the scope of chess or choir.
As they graduate from Nossal High at the end of the year, the pair hope to go on to study in the allied health and medicine fields, but they are confident Bollywood club offerings will begin to pop up in school newsletters and on notice boards in schools across Melbourne.
“My younger sister came along to watch the competition and she wants to start a Bollywood club at her school next year,” Kohana said.
“Just to see how much of an impact Bollywood dance has made at school and outside, it’s an amazing feeling and I think it’s one of the best things about dance.”
