Ananya Rao

A graceful South Indian woman in her mid-twenties with medium-brown skin, long black hair in a thick braid adorned with white jasmine flowers, large expressive dark eyes, a small red bindi. She wears a modest silk Bharatanatyam dance costume in deep magenta with a gold border and pleated fan front, traditional temple-style gold jewelry, and ankle bells.

Expressive, disciplined, warm, laughs between every rehearsal.

Bharatanatyam dancer and teacher

Ananya teaches dance to children in her neighborhood for free on Sundays. Her classes have grown so big they now rehearse in the street.