Samhitha Bellamkonda may do all the dancing, but credits her grandfather for the establishment of Dance-a-gram, a school club that performs for senior citizens.
The sophomore formed the club at Mountain View High School not long after her grandfather, Lakshmi Varadaraj, traveled from India to watch her perform an arangetram, a classical Indian dance, in front of 400 people.
“He was super excited to see me dance and thought it would be super fun for him as a form of entertainment,” Bellamkonda said. “Then, the idea struck me, a lot of other elderly people would love watching this Indian classical dance form as a form of entertainment, especially because it’s common for them to see piano performances or an orchestra, but they haven’t really been exposed to this cultural dance form.”
Before creating the club, Bellamkonda said she performed hour-long solo pieces for senior homes throughout Silicon Valley.
“The feedback was amazing from all of the residents,” the Mountain View resident said. “They loved seeing all the different dance forms, especially Bharatanatyam. It inspired me to get the dance community (at my school) together and make a club where we could organize these performances, and expose senior homes to different forms of art and dance.”
Next came Dance-a-gram, launched in September at her school. The club of 12 performs various styles of dance monthly for senior homes in the area. Club secretary Olivia Nam, a sophomore, said Bellamkonda serves as a leader and emphasizes inclusivity within the club.
“She’s a really great leader, and she’ll let everyone know all the opportunities for people to volunteer,” Nam said. “She makes (the club) a very open space where people can come and serve the community. She’s also just a great performer in general.”
Bellamkonda said she takes inspiration from Mohana Narayan, her teacher at SarvaGuna School of Bharatanatyam in Mountain View, and applies it to her club. She teaches the other members of the club some of the pieces and dance moves she has learned.
Bellamkonda said she began dancing roughly 10 years ago at SarvaGuna School of Bharatanatyam.
“In order to master the dance form, it takes around 10 years,” Bellamkonda said. “I learned all my skill set and my dance moves from her and I basically take what I learned, and perform the pieces she composed to the senior centers.”
Her father, Srikanth Bellamkonda, said he is proud of the success of Samhitha’s club.
“I’m really happy; she’s done three performances (with the club),” Srikanth said. “I was not expecting that, honestly, but the response has been wonderful. And we are super excited with the way it was received by the senior centers. It’s a very fulfilling experience for the entire family and for Samhitha.”
Although Samhitha said she was uncertain how people would react to the cultural art form, she has been pleased with the outcome.
“When I went to the senior centers and started dancing, especially with Indian dance, it could be hard to understand for people who have never seen it before,” Samhitha said. “But I was surprised when I saw people in the audience get up and start dancing along with me. I thought it was really beautiful because it was all different types of people with different stories.”
For more information on the club, visit danceagramclub.wixsite.com/danceagram.
