A little bit about me :

Born and educated in Mumbai (the birthplace of Bollywood), I started practicing Indian dance forms at a very early age. With a natural aptitude and passion for dance, and always having being partial to Bollywood films and music, I first started by teaching in my spare time, classmates, friends & family . During my career's formative years whilst undergoing college in Mumbai, I had the opportunity to team up with my peers, some of whom are now well-known media personalities in the entertainment world. My college peers Ravi Behl and Naved Jaffery (now famous producers of 'Boogie Woogie' an international dance contest on Sony TV) were my associates / mentors in the Performing Arts Society of our college, as we co-worked towards the many inter-collegiate festivals we represented and won. In the early 90's , I ranked 4th Best Female Dancer in the finals of the all-India National Duet Dance Championships, next only to (now) famous Bollywood choroegrapher Farah Khan. Together with my contemporaries, I became part of 'Bombay City Breakers' - Mumbai's first professional break dance team who performed at many a prominent occasion in Mumbai's entertainment circles.

Many a performance later, I realized that there was a growing niche for the type of 'fusion' dance that we specialized in. My teaching career started with endeavors in academic schools in the western suburbs of Bombay and with the rapid success & popularity of these, was signed up with several other schools and recreational clubs to teach on a co-curricular basis. Soon, I had the opportunity to offer them in a professional environment at my own centre called 'Indigo Fusion' started in early 90's. Some of my star students have featured and won on Sony TV's Boogie Woogie episodes in Mumbai and appeared on national TV as well.

For a refreshing slant on my fusion style, I trained in the classical North Indian dance form called Katthak at a famous Bollywood Katthak dancer's academy (Late Shri Gopikrishna). During my Mumbai years, I did brief modelling stints for Health & Fitness magazines and on occasion, contirbuted articles on fitness. A passion for fitness led me to extend my knowedge base and procure a Diploma in Teaching Yoga to Young Adults.

Since migrating overseas in '97, I had the opportunity to teach in Dubai (United Arab Emirates).as well as New Zealand for roughly 6 years each. Having picked up Latin dance, flamenco and Middle-eastern dance on the fly during my sojourn in these countries, I sometimes add elements of these in my choreography. Besides the expatriate Indian community, I also had a diverse multi-racial clientele who attended my classes and workshops. Students overseas have featured on Dubai National TV, and also in mainstream channels in New Zealand. There have been performances for the then Prime of New Zealand,(2004) as also for the Crown Princess of U.A.E.(1999)

Amongst my favorite projects during a span of 20 years of teaching, are the children' musicals choreographed for Hosi Vasunia Theatre productions Mumbai, Boogie Woogie Mumbai, Navy Ball Mumbai, shows for the Red Cross Society, Mumbai, traditional Bollywood performances my troupe did for the Royal Family of UAE, a multi-racial Youth Fashion show at the Dubai World Trade Center, a dance contest organised for 300 children in the Global Village of Dubai Shopping Festival 1998, a closing ceremony for a Dubai Chamber of Commerce event,, a Diwali presentation in honor of Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark , a workshop for 50 high school teachers in New Zealand, and a University Dance Contest in New Zealand, won by my star pupils in 2008.

I believe in generously sharing my love for dance and fitness to all those who come to my portals. For talented newbies, who want to make a mark in the exciting world of glamour/entertainment, to hone their skills and as a confidence exercise, I will aim to give incentives by way of performances at various community level platforms.

My other interests are theatre and writing musicals/skits.

Be it for fitness, fun or just for making new friends, I would like you to come by to one of my sessions and have a go. You may be pleasantly surprised at your own potential!

I hope you enjoy your visit to my blog and some of the videos posted here. Thanks for all those who vote on the videos! I'll make sure to keep adding to these with the latest performances as we go ! :-)

-Priya Chellani.. Email : indigo.academy@hotmail.com