UCLA alumna moves into an unexpected career in Bollywood dance

Working at weddings had never been part of Tali Aires’ original plan.

Six months ago, Aires, an alumna, had a dream familiar to many Los Angeles dancers: She would perform commercially, find gigs where she could, perhaps teach a bit on the side. It was a reasonable goal, especially since she had been dancing since age 4 and dedicated her time at UCLA to perfecting her technique as a jazz, hip-hop and contemporary dancer.

Today, Aires is living out her dream, with one slight adjustment: She has entered the realm of Bollywood dance. This past September, Aires landed a job performing with Karmagraphy, a Los Angeles-based Indian fusion entertainment company, after attending an open audition on a whim. Although Aires had no prior exposure to Bollywood or Indian culture, she now performs most frequently at traditional Indian weddings.

“I was a little bit scared to throw myself into Bollywood,” Aires said. “But I think my prior experience with doing various different styles of dance really helped me jump in to learning new types of movement.”

Aires said her world arts and culture studies provided her with a background in world dance genres like West African and Afro-Brazilian. This, she said, gave her the foundation to take on other cultural dances like Bollywood and Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance.

Aires was not alone in joining Karmagraphy without classical Indian exposure. Karmagraphy, she said, is filled with salsa, jazz, ballroom and circus performers whose cultural backgrounds originate from every corner of a world map. Only two on the roster of about 40 dancers, she said, identify as Indian themselves.

To Aires, however, the common thread between all the performers is their adaptability in quickly picking up the style of a dance they are not familiar with. Despite the dancers’ different ethnicities, she hopes to accurately and respectfully exemplify Bollywood style.

“We’re expected to be able to pick up (Bollywood) just like we would if we had trained in the dance since we were 5,” Aires said.

Kavita Rao, Karmagraphy’s owner and director, said she holds weekly company rehearsals to teach dancers the technique involved in Bollywood dance. The company rehearsals are also a dedicated time for learning Indian culture, Rao said, and she ensures her dancers learn all the songs they perform to by name and the different subsets of Indian dance, like Bhangra and Garba.

Learning all this terminology is no simple task, given each state in India has its own specific style of dance and accompanying song and dress.

“It’s almost like classical ballet training, where people take 16 years to master the art form,” Rao said. “It’s extremely in-depth and elaborate.”

Aires has particularly loved learning the nuances of the hand gestures involved in Indian dance. Placing two fingers to the thumb forms “the bunny,” and turning palms up and fingers spread towards the sky creates “the flower.” Traditionally, these hand motions, or “mudras,” are called the “Simhamukha” and “Alapadma” in Sanskrit, the language used by those practicing Bharatanatyam dance.

Karmagraphy’s main clientele are the parents of Indian brides and grooms who hire some of Karmagraphy’s dancers for their children’s weddings. Rao said overall, audiences have been receptive of the company’s open-minded approach to casting dancers.

“I definitely have had clients who request all-Indian or Indian-looking dancers,” Rao said. “But every time we do send a mixed cast, we get the most compliments from people being amazed at how well non-Indians do Indian styles.”

Aires said she is typically approached favorably after her performances, receiving compliments for her technical skill and authentic style.

“Their dancing is seamless,” said Menna Detta, who hired Karmagraphy for her son’s engagement party and wedding in 2015. “They cut through all cultures.”

Detta said the dance group exceeded her expectations for providing entertainment that celebrated her family’s heritage.

“The dance community is very open to different styles, different ethnicities, different religions,” Aires said. “If anything, we’re bringing a fresh new idea to the table, and I love that anybody can step into the company and do Bollywood dance.”

The best part of dancing with Karmagraphy, Aires said, is bringing joy to the newlyweds and their families through her dancing.

“I love being at the weddings and seeing the bride and groom just smiling ear to ear with our performance,” Aires said. “They’re so excited to have us there, and we’re so excited to be there.”