Paige Venturi: From Ballet to Bhangra
Name: Paige Venturi
Year: Sophomore
Major: Journalism and Apparel Merchandising
Hometown: Evansville, IN
Dance History: ballet, show choir, latin styles, african styles, bollywood, bhangra
Paige Venturi comes from an Italian family, but has uniquely positioned herself in the Indian community. For her, this immersion in Indian culture is rooted in a passion that developed at an early age. She first remembers trying on friends’ Indian outfits and then becoming inquisitive about aspects of Indian culture such as religion, dance, and music. A lifelong artist, Paige has experience with Latin and African styles of dance as well as ballet and show choir. In fact, she would visit IU often during high school to be a part of a dance clinic hosted by the African American dance company. In recent years, she has expanded her abilities to both bollywood and bhangra. As a former member of HooSher Bhangra, Paige has developed a keen sense of Indian culture. Through dance history classes she has learned that many traditional Indian dances have mythological and religious purposes, while bhangra’s origin story had to do with celebrating the harvest and hoping for prosperity. She notes, “I had to start from scratch. I learned the traditions, I learned the morals and the values and traditions and holidays. It is kind of a mimicking process.” Although she possesses greater knowledge of Indian culture than the average white American, she still considers herself monocultural. She notes that many Indian people have exclaimed, “you’re more Indian than I am!” While she politely rejects this notion, she takes strong ownership of her knowledge. Consequentially, she believes it is the responsibility of people of Indian culture as well as those who are passionate about it to keep Indian dance alive by continuing its traditions. According to her, “there is so much permeation across lines which is great to share cultures, but you can lose the originality of it. I think it’s a shame if there’s not at least one aspect that is still original. Sure, you can make a hybrid out of it, but I think there is a lot to be said of tradition. We should have some record of that.” Since Paige does not understand any Indian languages, she appreciates that “you don’t have to say any words or speak a common language to understand a dancer.” She treats dance as a lifestyle, so being a part of HooSher Bhangra and immersing herself in the Indian community has added an indescribable dimension to her identity and experience at IU.