WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Anupama Mirle moved to the United States from India to pursue a college education.
“Being away from home, I also felt that tug. That you felt that need, having to preserve, ” she said.
In 1999, she and her husband moved to Cincinnati to work for P&G.
“We found that this place doesn’t have as much Asian culture as the East Coast,” Mirle said. “I honestly did not think I would stay in Cincinnati.”
But slowly, Mirle was able to find a community here. And even better, a community with dance backgrounds just like hers.
Hear how Mirle created a community from dance lessons and culture:
She quickly began teaching small, informal dance lessons out of her basement.
“Very soon, I found out that people were coming to me for sustaining culture, not necessarily only dance,” Mirle said. “Then I felt that I needed to do something more.”
That something more became the Nrityarpana School of Performing Arts (NSPA) in West Chester. At NSPA, Mirle teaches the bells and whistles of classical Indian dance.
I asked Mirle how teaching Indian dance has helped her stay connected with her culture, especially being so far from home.
“I don’t feel far, and it’s probably thanks to the art. Art, and I’m surrounded by like-minded people,” she said.
She said she's both found and helped add to a community with the same culture as herself, which has allowed her and everyone else in the school to form a strong connection through a shared culture and history.
“We’re all Indian-American, and we’re able to connect with such a traditional part of our culture and our identity here,” said Vanessa Fernando, a student of NSPA for the last 11 years.
But it’s not just Indian-American students who have found community within NSPA. Sivanya Sivaruban, a 10-year student, is Sri Lankan and competing this Saturday in the Cincinnati Regionals for the American Natya Idol competition.
“That dance is basically about the goddess Kali, and how she can be angry and kill people, but also be a compassionate mother as well,” Sivaruban said.
The competition will be held at NSPA’s studio in West Chester Township from 2-7 PM. For more information or tickets, you can click here.
