Nivanka Paranavitana

I've always loved to dance, even as a child I always wanted to learn. I grew up in Sri Lanka until I was 15, where all the parties were focused on dancing. Some people would do a dance called the "Jive" with a partner, but at the end of the night when everyone is drunk they dance the "Baila"... a rather comical dance we inherited from the Portuguese after colonization! It wasn't until college that I took my first ballroom dance class. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I took it over again the following year!

Like a lot of Indys salseras and salseros, I too had my life changing moment when I decided to learn salsa. My first visit to the Jazz Kitchen was about 3 years ago, and I was absolutely mesmerized. I saw this guy dancing and he seemed to be having the time of his life. The music was just flowing from within him, and I was in complete awe. Of course, at the time, I was too shy to even ask him where he learned to dance like that, so I sent my friend. He referred her to the Red Brick Dance Studio and the very next day I took my first Salsa lesson and I completed Beginners 1 with Yang and Erin at the Red Brick.

A little over a year ago, I started taking lessons again at the studio with Tee and Jessica, and went religiously to class every week and to the Jazz Kitchen to put what I had learned into practice. I danced with anyone and everyone who asked me. I've had some embarrassing moments too... like falling twice within a minute of each other in front of everyone. When you are beginning to learn it can be frustrating, and it's easy to feel small and un-noticed. But after awhile, step by step, you learn, and you pick up on things whether you realize it or not. As your confidence builds, your dancing improves too. I've had the time of my life this past year and I feel so lucky to be a part of our dance community here in Indy. It will never be the same anywhere else.