Presentation High student shares south-Asian dance with the community

By Kaylee Arca

In a vibrant fusion of culture and community, 17-year-old Anusha Upadhyayula is transforming the Morgan Hill Library into an unexpected dance floor. With infectious energy and graceful moves, the teenager breaks stereotypes and brings the pulsating rhythms of Bollywood to South Valley, one free dance class at a time.

Upadhyayula created a free Bollywood fusion dance class at the library for teens and adults aged 13 and older. The class, “BollyBe: be fit, be jolly,” encourages participants to find fun in exercising.

Bollywood fusion combines movements from traditional folk dances in India with Western influences of jazz and hip hop, said the Presentation High School senior.

While stuck inside due to the pandemic, Upadhyayula started dancing and learning Bollywood fusion from movies and YouTube videos to keep active. She used to spend a lot of time at the library because her brother was a “huge bookworm.” While he read, Upadhyayula attended Mommy and Me dance classes.

“I remember thinking, I would love it if there was a Bollywood dance class, that’s what I want to do,” she said. “But I never saw any of that type of representation in the library system.”

The young dancer and activist wanted to share her identity and address the lack of representation in the library system and programs. She pitched her dance class idea to the West Valley Library staff in December 2022. The librarians and community were encouraging. Soon, she was teaching Bollywood fusion dance classes to kids at multiple branches of the San Jose Public Library system.

The monthly class is filled with infectious energy as Upadhyayula choreographs and teaches a new short routine during each class.

“Now at Morgan Hill Library, it’s absolutely insane, like the amount of people who are interested,” she said. “Even after the class, they’ll hang back to talk to me . . . And the librarians are just so supportive at the Morgan Hill branch too.”

The class usually has about 20 participants. Emily Moya, 21, and James Xu, 21, attended the July class. The pair are recent college graduates and attended Oakwood School. They learned about the class from the Centennial Recreation Center.

“We’ve been trying to find dance classes, but being freshly graduated students, money is a main point,” Moya said.

Upadhyayula’s mother, Sunita Upadhyayula, describes herself as having two left feet, but supports the dance classes and drives the teen to the library.

“I used to take her to the libraries as a kid,” Sunita said. “We would see Chinese New Year, Cinco de Mayo, all of that. Anusha would always notice there’s nothing Indian.”

She has witnessed the growth in acceptance and appreciation of Indian culture within the community. Many participants of diverse backgrounds will stay after the class is done to learn more about the music, dance, and culture, she said.

“My mom always jokes that she has no idea how I learned to dance because our entire family is two left-foot people,” Upadhyayula said. “My family, they’re not big on dance. I try to get my mom to join in on the dance sessions while I’m teaching. She always shies away from it. But I think they’re really proud of me just because they want me to be involved in the community.”

Upadhyayula’s love for dance grew since learning from YouTube videos in her bedroom. She serves as the captain of Presentation’s “Jazba” Bollywood dance team, where she also choreographs. The team competes against other local South Asian dance teams.

Her imagination often inspires her choreography.

“I close my eyes and I listen to a song and see a movie scene play out in front of me,” she said. “So deciphering that scene and making it a reality is what I put a lot of effort into.”

The past three years, Jazba was selected to perform at UC Berkeley’s annual Bollywood Berkeley, the West coast’s largest intercollegiate Bollywood fusion dance competition. Jazba was awarded “Best Energy” at the competition.

After high school, Upadhyayula plans to compete at the collegiate level Desi Dance Network. In the meantime, she loves teaching at the library and sharing her culture with the community.

“The biggest thank you ever to the Morgan Hill Library!” she said. “Genuinely, Morgan Hill Library has the most energetic people, even the attendees. They’re by far the most energetic I’ve seen at all of the libraries.”

Kaylee Arca is a Morgan Hill-based freelance reporter.