An ancient Indian dance form and forbidden teenage dreams — uniting with passion on P.E.I.

Bharatanatyam — it's an ancient form of classical Indian dance that's as entrenched in Indian culture as ballet is in the West. It originated in southern India as an element of worship in Hindu temples.

But despite its prominence in Indian culture, having the opportunity to learn this special dance form has been a forbidden teenage dream for some girls in India.

Aparna Roy Kollannur was raised Catholic, one of the largest religious minorities in her native state of Kerala.

"My dad is very religious," she said.

Kerala is near the birthplace of Bharatanatyam and as such, the dance form is a significant part of the region's culture.

Roy Kollannur said that while "everybody" around her learned Bharatanatyam when she was growing up, her family wouldn't let her learn the dance largely due to its religious associations.

"I wanted to do like a bachelor's in Bharatanatyam, and then master's, and then do research in it, and stuff like that. But my parents wouldn't let me do that," Roy Kollannur said.

"It's not like a profession that's in the social framework in India."

Nevertheless, she returned to her "first love" later in life, training under two gurus in India and learning both the theory and practice behind the dance. 

Now Roy Kollannur is sharing her passion for Bharatanatyam with Islanders.

She came to P.E.I. a few years ago as a student.

And this month, she started giving weekly Bharatanatyam lessons to children and adults at the DownStreet Dance non-profit dance studio in Charlottetown.

"Aparna actually approached us and wanted to teach her class in an environment that was supportive. So we said yes, absolutely," said Laura Weatherbie, DownStreet's board president.

"We're so excited to support anyone who wants to teach people a little bit about their culture."