With his
dream to visit the U.S.
on hold, Raj began to
explore what he could
establish in his home
country. In 2003 he opened the doors
of his studio with no experience, in
the heavily dominated Bollywood
dance community, about one hour
away from his home city.
Talk about facing challenges.
“I grew up in a very tough
family, so fighting is in my blood. I left
my family when I was 18, it’s uncommon (in India).” Raj’s experiences of
living on the streets and mixing with
the wrong crowds no doubt reflect
his innate ability to weather through
24 UNSIGNED ARTIST
storms. Dance certainly played a
role in that resolve. “When I joined
my first dance class I wanted to stop
smoking. I got rid of smoking and got
a hold of dancing!”
Today, Raj has been teaching
dance from his studio for more than
13 years (after two-and-a-half years
of hard work his studio became a
big success and he finally made it to
NYC!). He uses dance to provide corporate workshops and has performed
at the request of dignitaries. Through
dance, he has witnessed his students
THIS PAGE: RAVI NALLI (FAR LEFT); COURTESY OF RAJ (FAR RIGHT)
ow do you journey from
being just ordinary to greatness?
Prithviraj “Raj” Ramaswamy’s,
founder of Steps Dance Studio in
Hyderabad, India, journey began
when he saw a local ad for a hip-hop
class. What started out as an interest soon developed into a full fledge
habit, when Raj realized the classes
made him feel happier and healthier.
He became enrolled in various classes,
almost every night and even began
traveling to nearby cities to learn different styles of dance.
With some savings, Raj quit
his sales job of five years and started
his own consultation business to focus
more on dance. Once he’d successfully
learned everything he could from his
community, he set his sights on New
York City to grow more. With the help
of a previous teacher, he applied for
a VISA, but disaster struck. “September 11th closed embassies all over the
world. So my dream got trashed.”
Disaster struck again, eight
months later when Raj re-applied
for the VISA, and he broke his ankle
during rehearsals.
PREVIOUS PAGE: RAVI NALLI. THIS PAGE: PROVIDED COURTESY OF RAJ
H
“I was so
keen to visit
(NYC), I was
saving (rupees)
and converting
it into $100
bills. I even
brought boots
to use in NYC
weather!”
“Dance of the Warriors”
Contemporary dance based on ancient form
of Perini Shivathandavam
achieve fitness, stress
release, and even couples
gaining a more intimate
level of understanding
their companion.
Raj is proud that
some of his students have
moved on to become
professional dancers in
the United States “Ms.
Choeetha and Mr. Aswin,
not to forget my students
who became instructors at
my studio, Ms. Anuhuya,
and Dr. Madhuri,” he
beams.
“I always suggest
my students . . . pursue
(their) passion along with
work, like I did. Even when
I started my dance studio
in 2003, I always traveled
back to my (home) city to
do (consultation) services
for my clients. I didn’t even
tell them I’d moved to a
different city because they
might think I wouldn’t do
backup services!” Raj also
encourages his students
to learn from many instructors, different styles
to form their own dance
styles.
“When you have
patience and believe in
yourself you can do anything. Follow your heart,
not others. When you
realize your dream and
pursue it the amount of
energy and satisfaction is
unlimited.”
Raj is continually
searching for other dance
instructors from every
culture to participate in an
exchange dance education
program he conducts at his
studio. If interested, please
contact him for further details. To learn more about
Raj and his significant
accomplishments or to get
in touch visit his website at
www.stepsdanz.com.
Current
Goals:
#1 Start his 3rd studio in
his city and one in another
country (sounds exciting!)
#2 Spend more time