“Dance is my artistic outlet.”

Eesha Challa: “I first started dancing when I was eight years old and I got into it because I watched other people dance and I thought it was really cool. Dance always served as a reminder for me to be relaxed and have fun while still being artistic and expressing myself in my own way. Although the jewelry and clothing can be quite uncomfortable sometimes, doing routines, watching other people dance, or watching videos, ties together the whole experience and makes it worth it. When I first started dancing, it was a lot easier, and as I grew up the routines became more difficult as I learned harder songs and started learning solo dances which was a lot scarier, but it pushed me to better myself and become a better dancer overall. Dance has been an incredibly important part of my life and has helped me build a strong sense of community and made me more confident. It helped me connect more with my culture because the cultural dances helped me understand and realize the importance of my roots, and it also made me more able to appreciate and understand the significance of it. As a person, dance made me more confident because I started off really shy, but dancing in front of large groups of people made me realize that I don’t have anything to be afraid of. And it made me more confident, not just in dancing but in other things as well. The largest group of people I’ve danced in front of was at the San Francisco Cultural Arts competition. I’m thankful for dance because it inspires me to explore my culture more and express myself artistically.”