Khushboo Chougule: A New Standard
Name: Khushboo Chougule
Year: Sophomore
Major: Cognitive Science with a minor in Computer Science
Hometown: Fishers, IN
Dance History: Bollywood, bharatnatyam, raas
Khushboo Chougle began dancing when she was 3 years old and has continued partaking in different dance styles throughout her life. She started off dancing bollywood, and in third grade began practicing bharatanatyam. She would see her friends who were taking bharatanatyam classes "performing poems that they wrote using their hand movements," and wanted to be a part of that. At Indiana University, she is currently a member of IU HoosierRaas. She decided to join this team after a four year hiatus from dancing in high school. According to her, “I realized it was something I really, really loved and something I missed a lot,” since she had to stop after tearing her ACL. Khushboo says she would describe her cultural identity as being on a spectrum. She leans more towards her Indian identity, but thoroughly enjoys the balance she has with her American side. Joining HoosierRaas has really helped Khushboo connect with her Indian identity even more. The mixes used in the performance and the bicultural nature of the competition circuit allows her to feel more in tune with not just her culture, but her extended family as well. Being a part of such a cultural dance team, Khushboo appreciates that she is surrounded by people who are “very intellectually connected so they understand the diversity." Besides dance, Khushboo says Indian pop culture and her spiritual connection really help her connect to the Indian community. Connecting with her American side is a necessity for Khushboo because Americans have a different worldview than Indian people. HoosierRaas has allowed her to “[do] something [she] really, truly enjoys for [herself]." It has allowed her let go of this standard of who she is supposed to be, who she is expected to be, and just do something that allows her to stay content and connected to her community at the same time. Being so involved in dance, Khushboo does not feel like it is her personal responsibility to keep continue traditions of dance and keep it alive. She believes that people should say “what dance needs to be, but you need to allow for adaptability." In the same way, she believes that it is important for the people who are adapting dance to understand the full implications of that dance and the community it belongs to. This is because dance can bridge gaps, but only if it comes with an openness to watching it. Overall, dance allows her to "tell people who I am, what my passion is, and where my priorities lie.” The way she articulates her thoughts with words holds just as much weight as the language she conveys through movement.