Houston native Lauren Martin is lead choreographer with the South Asian Dance Academy (SADA), which will perform at Belfast Mela once again this year
We might be better known for Irish dancing on these shores but for over a decade, one Belfast dance academy has been bringing the graceful and intricate moves of Bollywood dance. to Northern Ireland and across the island.
The academy stems from ArtsEkta, set up by Nisha Tandon, the province’s primary organisation dedicated to celebrating diversity and inclusivity through the arts. It works with a diverse group of freelance dancers with varying skills, discipline areas, genres of focus and levels of experience. Lauren, 41 and originally from Houston, kept up her dancing during her time at Texas Woman's University where she gained a degree in dance before a chance to study an MA in social anthropology at Queen’s University, with a focus on ability and identity in dance, brought her to Belfast.
"It's not as easy as simply picking a song and putting movement to it, it's what am I trying to say and what is this song saying and then bringing it back to what I want to say. But everyone has been really supportive, particularly the dancers who come from that culture and it's always very much a collaboration."
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