Today we’d like to introduce you to Vyju Prasad (Iyengar).
Vyju, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Dance is who I am but I could not have been all of who I am if not for the people who have supported me through the thick and thin of it all. So, the story of how I got started would have to go back to when I was four years old! For any parent who pays for any extra lessons of any sort knows that it is not cheap! If this is the case today, can you imagine the case 36 years ago? My parents and my brother were and still are my champions and always supported me in my decision to take up dancing. No one in my extended family had ever danced Bharatanatyam, but that didn’t stop me or my parents from taking it on. My sole extracurricular activity was dance when I wasn’t playing outside with my friends I was in class. There were days when my classes would run late because of rehearsals and my brother would be the one to pick me up on his bicycle. The only condition for the classes to continue was, it wasn’t to affect my education. I went on to learn through my school and college days and performed solo and group shows throughout Southern India, traveling with my teacher. At times, my M\mother traveled with me, but for the most part, I traveled alone with my teacher and other students. This decision was due to the fact that my parents had responsibilities to take care of as well as additional people traveling meant more money, which wasn’t easy to come by.
Then, came the part of my life when I found my life partner, where my condition for marriage was that I don’t stop dancing! I moved from India, leaving all and everyone and came to the United States 18 years ago. Slowly but surely formed a circle of friends in dancing and music community and finding places to dance. At the Hindu Temple, at the local events, at Fund Raisers. During this time, I not only built my dancing fraternity, but I also went to school, work and built a new life with my husband who was (and continues to be) my pillar of strength.
As we headed to a new phase of owning a house and stepping into parenthood, I decided to start my own dance school. I had teaching experience from India, but it was at someone else’s dance school, this time, I wanted it to be my own. I knew it would be a lot, a new baby on the way, a full-time job. But I needn’t have worried, with an amazing family consisting of my husband, Mother (in-law), Mom and Dad, the transition was almost seamless.
I remember having a six-month-old (my second child!) and I had gone off to rehearsals for a fundraiser on my birthday. But what do I see during my break, my entire family, including my two little children (five-year-old and six-month-old) came to me with a cake for everyone to celebrate! If I had any lingering doubts until that point that I was maybe doing something wrong by leaving them, that day, seeing the joy on the faces of my family and my children wiped away everything.
In 2017, I celebrated ten years of my dance school being open here, for this I wanted my parents and my Mother (in-law) here because without them, I wouldn’t be where I am and who I am today. If I stand tall and proud, it is because of all the pieces that my family has given for me to be here today.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road has certainly not been smooth, but I didn’t feel it at the time. It only feels that way when I look back. The reason I didn’t feel it much is because I was too busy making it work and I had the backbone in the form of family and the nearest and dearest friends cheering me on to make sure not to give up.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Noopur Nritya Academy – what should we know?
Noopur Nritya Academy is run by me, and I only teach Bharatanatyam, which is a South Indian Classical Dance form. I truly believe that my students should be there only IF they truly want to learn dance for all that it is. I have no age or gender bias for my classes as long as they have an open mind.
I am most proud and thrilled of the fact that my students want to come back to class each year, despite the fact that my classes are not easy. I am not sure what sets me apart, this would be a good question for my cuties!
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Mom, Dad, Brother, Husband, Mother (in-law), my two daughters, Grandmother. Without these main people, I wouldn’t have continued dancing/teaching all these years.
There are three family friends who I consider more as a family first than as friends who are always there to support any event I put forward, these are my cheerleaders, my support and my moral compass.
All these people continue to be in my life as I learn and grow in this amazing art form.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 508-226-2826
- Email: vyjugopalan@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vyjuprasad/
Image Credit:
All picture credits go to my husband Prasad (Srini Iyengar)
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