Indian dancers tell stories through movement

• Smitha Paily has been teaching Indian dance at her Natya Kendra Dance Academy for 10 years.
• Both Indian and non-Indian dancers are attracted to the classes.
• Traditional Indian dance aims to tell stories through movement.

For Indian dancer Smitha Paily, the success of her students' performance can be measured by the audience's understanding of the stories they tell through intricate hand movements and facial expressions.

"Art itself is a language if you do it properly," she said, adding that non-Indian audiences can connect with centuries-old stories if the components are in place.

On a recent evening, students of Paily's Natya Kendra Dance Academy — which celebrates 10 years of dance this year — told the stories of Hindu gods Krishna and Shiva through a dance called Bharatanatyam. Their bare feet struck the Oldham County Schools Arts Center stage with punctuated movements Paily said require discipline to learn, and the bells tied around their ankles — just one component of their ornate costumes — accentuated the rhythmic music.

Paily's students will bring the ancient art form to India Day at the Belvedere on Sept. 27.

Sachi Dixit, 11, said she takes both ballet and traditional Indian dance, and the two styles are very different. Ballet is more graceful, she said, whereas Bharatanatyam employs sharp movements.

"It just expresses a lot," she said of the traditional Indian dance. "It tells stories in many different ways, and I just like the form of the dance."

Paily, who is originally from India, said she was trained in both Bharatanatyam and Mohiniattam classical Indian dance from a young age, with her first performance at 4 years old.

When she moved to the United States 15 years ago, Paily, who lives in Prospect, began teaching her own kids, ages 6 and 12. Her friends then began urging her to open a dance academy so their kids could learn the traditional Indian dances.

Ten years later, Paily said, some of her students who cried when they began at age 5 are some of her best dancers.

"When I see the pride on their faces, that's the most fulfilling for me," she said.

Paily also teaches Bollywood dance, which she described as a marriage between traditional Indian dance and hip-hop.

Last year, she took her Bollywood class to Sacred Heart Model School. It has become increasingly popular among both Indian and non-Indian students, she said.

"I think the people mainly enjoy it … because of the high-beat music, high-beat rhythm," she said. "It's like a dance of the youth."

Sharon Biagi said her 9-year-old daughter, Lilia, signed up for Paily's Bollywood class for the first time this year.

Biagi said the class is exposing Lilia to a different culture through the music and costumes.

"I like the moves and that (Paily) counts the steps for us and that it's fast-paced," said Lilia, who has also taken tap, jazz and ballet classes. "And I love the music and how it's so Indian."

Reporter Kirsten Clark can be reached at (502) 582-4144 or on Twitter by following @kirstenlmclark.

Indian Classical and Bollywood dances

For more information about Natya Kendra Dance Academy, email Smitha Paily at smpaily@yahoo.com or call (502) 599-3405.