Name: Aditi Shah

Grade: 11

Fine Art: Kuchipudi (12 years) and Red Rhythm (2 years)

Wingspan: What is Kuchipudi?

Shah: “It is a classical Indian dance form from South India.”

Wingspan: How did you get into Kuchipudi?

Shah: “I got into it because my grandma was in it and my mom did it, so she wanted me to do it too. So, I got into it kind of just because my parents signed me up for it, but then I kept doing it.”

Wingspan: How did you get into Red Rhythm?

Shah: “I joined dance at Liberty, like the class, and then I saw Red Rhythm and I thought that they were cool and me and my friends decided to join Red Rhythm together.”

Wingspan: Does doing two forms of dance help you as a dancer or make it more challenging?

Shah: “It helps me because they both like train different things, so it helps me build different skills. But also, it’s a little bit challenging because the style of one is so different from the style of the other, that sometimes it’s like hard to be switching between them.”

Wingspan: What is your favorite part of Kuchipudi?

Shah: “My favorite part is that there is like always more to improve on. There is so much that I have left to learn, even though I have been doing it for like eleven or twelve years. It’s like in the grand scheme of things, I’m still a beginner. There’s like so much that I can always improve on.”

Wingspan: What is your favorite part of Red Rhythm?

Shah: “My favorite part of Red Rhythm is honestly just having the like community there. We all spend so much time together, like the whole team, so I like having such a big group that like we’re all so connected to each other.”

Wingspan: What is the best part of being a dancer?

Shah: “The best part about being a dancer is doing something that’s like creative and physical at the same time. Like it feels like you can express yourself, but at the same time you’re doing something active, so it’s like you’re burning energy and yeah, it’s just like a lot of energy and passion goes into it.”