Meet Apra Bhandari of Adaa Indian and Bollywood Dance Academy in Orange County

Today we’d like to introduce you to Apra Bhandari.

Apra, can you briefly walk us through your story–how you started and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up on Long Island, New York, where I went to public schools. For college I attended Cornell University, where I majored in communications and business. 

I started dancing and performing at the age of 3, and began my Kathak training when I was 7. When I was 10, I started choreographing my own dances and entered numerous local dance competitions. I was 16 when I won a Mother-Daughter Beauty Pageant with my mom, and the Miss India Tri-State Teen Pageant. I was also the winner of the TV Asia Talent search competition. At 18, I participated in the Miss American COed Pageant and won first place in different categories. The same year, I was also crowned Miss India New York. I emceed and choreographed for a few Miss India Worldwide pageants after that.

I was also starting my first year at Cornell, where I became very active at Cornell with the Indian Dance troupe, Sitara. My senior year, I was the president of the club. I was also selected as one of the top 20 most influential Cornellians. This was a huge honor for me, and I was lucky to be in this group of highly talented and academically-driven individuals. The summer before I graduated from Cornell, I interned for NBC in Manhattan and knew that I wanted to work there afterwards.

I graduated six months early and went to India to attend a wedding. Since I wasn’t scheduled to begin work at NBC for a few months, I decided to take an acting course in Bombay. That was the turning point in my life. I fell in love with the city, the energy of filmmaking, and the dream of being a Bollywood actress. I told my parents that I wanted to pursue acting and stay in Bombay for a while. I had graduated from Cornell and had a secure job with NBC, but my parents had always encouraged and supported me to think out of the box and follow my dreams.

We had a long conversation about this huge step, and in the end, decided that I would live with my mom for six months in Bombay and see how things panned out. I will forever be grateful to my parents for respecting my choices, for giving me the freedom to explore, and for showing me that there is no wrong or right decision in life—you have to take the first step and give it your best. I worked very hard, like all other aspiring actors. I got my headshots. I began to attend auditions and take classes in dance, Hindi/Urdu language, and acting.

My parents didn’t have any film contacts, so things moved along slowly, but I got selected to be the lead in a Telugu Film. It wasn’t my ideal first acting assignment, but a lot of people told me many Bollywood actresses start their career in the South Film industry. It was definitely an interesting experience. For starters, I didn’t know the language. I had to learn how to speak Telugu using Roman English. Half the time, I had no idea what I was saying. But I learned a lot about filmmaking and facing the camera.

After completing the film, my mom and I went back to Bombay, hopeful that this would open more opportunities for me. I did a few ads for Cadbury Chocolate with Mr. Amitabh Bachachan, and ads for UNICEF with Mr. Shah Rukh Khan, and I continued to go on auditions. I soon realized that I didn’t enjoy being judged on my talent over one meeting and a portfolio in my hand. Just as I was finding myself disheartened with the whole experience, the director of Bhoothnath asked me if I wanted to be an assistant on his film.

I was thrilled at the opportunity to learn the art of filmmaking, and gratefully accepted. While shooting for the film, I came to see the incredible creativity involved in filmmaking and production. There were so many details, and I loved being with the creative minds that worked together to make a film. I fit in well in that environment. I worked so hard on Bhoothnath, and became the chief assistant director on the film. I worked with the biggest stars in the industry including some of the best technicians.

After Bhoothnath, Rohan Sippy accepted me to work as a production manager on Chandni Chowk to China. We shot at the Great Wall of China and I knew then, that one day, I would be a producer. While shooting for CC2C, I got engaged to my husband, and in 2008, we got married and moved to Los Angeles. My plan to be in Bombay for six months had become six years in the blink of an eye. I loved every moment of it. It made me a stronger, more aware, and more appreciative individual. After moving to LA, I decided to take a break from films.

I wanted to start a family, and production was a full-time job and then some. However, I wasn’t the type to sit at home, so I tapped my lifelong passion for dance. I started teaching two kids in my living room, and since then I haven’t looked back. What started as a way to use my time productively became a full-time job. I am the proud founder and Artistic Director of Adaa Dance Academy. We now teach at five locations. My daughter was born the same year as Adaa, and she’s definitely my lucky charm.

I am also blessed with a wonderful son who just turned 1. I absolutely love teaching, choreographing, being creative, and bringing smiles to my clients’ faces. Dancing is such a beautiful and expressive form that, despite being thoroughly exhausted at the end of each day, I wake up every morning more excited than the day before to start work. I can’t wait to show my students that they must be confident, they must embrace their art, and they must always strive for the best.

At Adaa, we pride ourselves on training all our students in technique as well as working on overall personality development. We want to empower them through this amazing art form so that when life gets tough, they can always turn on some music and find a way to relieve their stress. It’s been an incredible journey so far. I have met some extremely talented individuals, worked with some superstars in Bollywood, and started a business that I am so proud of.

I have a long way to go on this journey, but I cherish each moment because every experience has helped shape who I am today. And I haven’t forgotten my first dream of being a producer. One day, when the time is right, I will look for production work again. Right now, I am enjoying being a mom, a teacher, an entrepreneur, and a dreamer.

Has it been a smooth road?
It’s hardly ever a smooth ride, but every experience or obstacle teaches you to stay positive, keep working hard, and never give up. Bollywood is one of the most competitive, cutthroat, and difficult industries to work in.

It was quite challenging understanding Indian culture, the way people think and how to handle a lot of situations, having grown up here. I grew up in a fairly sheltered environment, and I’m an only child. My parents gave me the freedom to learn and grow as an individual, but hadn’t faced any of the issues I came across when living in India as an adult.

Also, as soon as work started to flow in Bombay, I got married and moved to L.A., which was a completely new place for me. I didn’t know anyone here except for my husband. If I had been in New York, starting and growing my academy would have been much easier. People knew me there; I was a dancer and a performer and I had a community.

In L.A., I started from scratch. I taught only two students for quite some time, and slowly built my academy through word-of-mouth. I felt the learning curve, and I am glad I was able to work hard to prove myself and my talent here as well.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Adaa Indian and Bollywood Dance Academy story. Tell us more about the business.
My company is Adaa Indian and Bollywood Dance Academy. We teach Indian dance to all ages, in five different locations. We also do wedding and event choreography and have a professional dance troupe that clients can hire to perform at their events. We are known for caring and being extremely passionate about our work. We pride ourselves on teaching students to be confident, disciplined, respect the art, and focus on technique. Dance is a form of self-expression, and we hope all our students use this form to be free, happy, and in love with dance and music.

I am proud of our students for always accepting, with open arms, the challenges we present. Our academy has done silks aerial, ring aerial, as well as dancing inside a Zorb Ball. We are constantly helping our dancers experiment with new styles and props. They are so driven to learn, to grow as dancers, and to give their absolute best. It’s something we try to instill in them from day one, and its been so gratifying to see our students follow that philosophy.

We are also an award-winning dance school, having the most trophies and wins in dance competitions in the past few years. Our students learn to perform, compete, and respect others, and to use these skills as a guiding force.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
There are a lot of new styles of dances, even with Bollywood, that emerge every year. It’s beautiful how creative the industry is. I love watching the marriage of different styles coming together in dance. There are absolutely no boundaries, no rules, no limitations, and it’s so inspiring and wonderful.

I think keeping up with the trends is fun, but what makes Adaa dance so special is that we always maintain our training in Indian classical dance. Our kids will always be trained in that style, which never goes out of fashion. It’s not a trend, but an imperative foundation that each child must have so that they can excel in any other dance form in the future. Bollywood has been embraced by the western community so lovingly, and I am sure it’s here to stay.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.adaadanceacademy.com
• Phone: 949 333 0611
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @adaadance
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adaadance
• Yelp: Adaa Bollywood Dance academy

Image Credit:
PC John Merrell

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