Daya Ravi is a performer and educator who has kept the tradition of Bharatanatyam Indian classical dance alive in Maryland through the Natraj School of Indian Dance. Bharatanatyam is one of eight styles of Indian classical dance and originated in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India. The dance style is a divine and ancient art, which was created by the gods and passed down through a text that Bharatanatyam Indian classical dancers follow to this day. Because Ravi lived in southern India, she learned Bharatanatyam from great teachers and gurus.

When a student enrolls at the Natraj School of Indian Dance, Ravi expects them to work hard and dedicate themselves to the art form for ten years. Ravi estimates that 75 percent of her students stay at the school and complete the ten years of training. Only then can they perform a final debut performance. Ravi not only teaches students to dance, but she also strives to teach them the values, origins, and ties to Hinduism within the dance tradition so that her students can better connect to the art form. Ravi is a strict follower to her tradition and expects her students to attend class in the correct attire and to maintain respect. All the while, she deeply cares for her students:

When a child joins my dance class . . . I say I have adopted you here. It’s not just a dance teacher and student relationship here, it’s more than that. I will discipline you, I [will] correct you, I [will] do everything, and that’s how a good teacher is. And that’s [what] my teachers did for me. I have all their lessons in my body [and those lessons and values have] taken me a long way.

Ravi’s motivation for starting Natraj School of Indian Dance has always been to make a positive impact on her students’ lives by instilling devotion in their hearts and teaching them customs, values, and traditions associated with Bharatanatyam. She goes above and beyond to help her students and other young artists by negotiating financial barriers and giving new musicians the chance to perform with her students, which has helped advance many of their careers. Her students have performed at festivals and venues such as the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Institution, Wolf Trap, and the Washington, D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival. Beyond aesthetics and entertainment, Ravi believes that the purpose of art is to serve and inspire others. She tells her students that they have a responsibility to fully connect with themselves in order to connect with their audience, including those who may attend a performance to get their minds off their troubles. Since 2000, Ravi and her students have used their performances to give back to the community by donating all of the proceeds from the school’s annual dance programs to hospitals and charities.

Many of her students have expressed gratitude for her teachings about dance, Hinduism, and Indian culture because her classes help them connect to their culture. Ravi estimates that 99 percent of her students are born in the U.S. and some have a great desire to reconnect to their roots, which may or may not be taught at home. The lessons that she provides for her students transcend Hinduism at times, drawing on other religions and cultures, too. She will sometimes research songs related to other cultures so that she can give all her students the experience to connect to their own religions in her classes.

When she is not teaching dance, Ravi works as a paraeducator, a role that allows her to work with autistic children alongside licensed teachers. She has always wanted to connect with kids and believes that dance is one avenue to do just that:

If I put them to music and they could dance to that, [they would be] venting out their energy positively and they’re learning an art form and at the same time it’s for them. So this is where I do intend to take this art form not just for art . . . but more as a therapy, more as making a difference in people’s [lives], be it anybody from people from our culture to background to . . . special needs kids, to everybody.

During her time as a dance teacher, Ravi has made a great impact on hundreds of students. Some students even go on to become Bharatanatyam teachers themselves – a fact that Ravi points to as evidence that she has “passed on the torch” to the next generation. Ravi says that she is always learning, even as a teacher, and says that you only stop learning when you stop being open. For her, Bharatanatyam is a lifelong dedication to learning that is not just an outward technique, but a spiritual technique that helps dancers connect to their souls.

Authored by Allie Stanich