Dancer, choreographer and bank manager Alpana Chauhan-Virani lives in Werribee South. She chats with Alesha Capone.
Can you tell me about yourself?
I am a Werribee South local and have lived in Wyndham for over 12 years, and over 16 years in Australia, after migrating from Mumbai, India. I live and work locally and love the multiculturalism Wyndham offers. I love not just doing things but also adding value to everything do. I am a successful bank manager at the local Bendigo Bank at Werribee and also run my own dance choreography business. Bendigo Bank is very big on community and something I have learnt from the bank is that for businesses to be successful we need our communities to be successful. Most importantly I am a mother of a gorgeous boy, Yohaan, and got married in December last year.
When did you start dancing?
I have been dancing since I was eight. It was at a time when I had changed schools and was trying to adjust in a new environment. To help me settle down and establish new friendships my mother enrolled me into Indian Classical dance classes which were run locally. I always had a dancer in me, but learning Bharatnatyam was my first experience into technical dance training. I still remember how the dance teacher made us sit in “Ardhamandali” (one of the classical dance stances) for the first few weeks of the dance training. After learning Bharatnatyam for many years I trialled other forms of dancing as I challenged myself to do better. My inspiration growing up was my brother, who introduced me to western style of dancing.
What other dance styles do you do?
After Yohaan was a little older, I joined dance classes for Bollywood hip hop and Jazz in Melbourne and would travel 45 minutes each way once a week to learn. I trained myself for five additional years, both one-on-one as well as online. Whilst I learnt, I created too, however never gained the confidence to go all out and own my creations. That confidence came as an encouragement from my husband Rahil when I re-married in December. Rahil encouraged me to start teaching and gave me a bigger purpose as only after I started this business I realised how complete my life felt.
What type of events do you choreograph for?
Since December I have choreographed several special events including, weddings, milestone anniversaries, milestone birthdays and baby showers – for not just Indian community but for various community groups. It gives me immense pleasure to add value to people’s special events as this is something they would remember all their lives. I am now looking to add a third arm to this business where I would love to perform at community events with my students as a way of spreading joy.
What do you enjoy about dancing and choreography?
I am happiest when I am dancing. I believe it’s so important to be proud of yourself when you achieve what you aimed for and creating my own choreographies makes me proud. What makes what I do more special is the community and the people that put their trust in me for making them better dancers or making their event stand out with their performance.
Are you working on anything else at present?
I am currently working on a community project where I will be introducing a mini dance-based web series for social media, where I will collaborate with local dancers to encourage passionate dancers and also to change the way Bollywood dance is perceived. When people think Bollywood, they think fun, which it absolutely is, but it’s a lot more than that. Bollywood dancing is a fusion of various dance forms and is very versatile and I want people to see that. I hope to inspire more locals to follow their passion, whatever it be. Do what makes you happy.
