when Sahana was in college, she used to pretend she was Vijay while performing on stage.

like actually pretend. giving full main character energy while dancing to his songs. because when you grow up watching Vijay, you don't just learn the moves — you learn how to command a stage.

now she's bringing that same energy to New York City, but this time she's teaching it.

March 11th, Sahana's teaching her first kuthu workshop in NYC. And if you've seen the video of her and the Kuthu Barbies dancing to Matta in Times Square — or outside the Oculus, or in the subway, or in front of the Vessel — you already know what kind of energy to expect.

"I think being able to bring back that choreographer mindset that I had while I was in college to this atmosphere in New York City has really made me a more dynamic person when it comes to dance, and I'm really grateful for it."

Sahana's been dancing her whole life. Started with Bharathanatyam at 5 in North Carolina. Trained for 10 years. Learned expression, storytelling, discipline — all the foundational stuff that still shows up in how she moves today.

In college, she joined two Bollywood fusion teams. Became a captain. Started choreographing kuthu sets for competitions. That's when she realized she loved creating movement as much as performing it.

"there's an aspect about choreographing that I really enjoy, which is being able to apply all of the dance techniques, the movements, and the skills that I've learned to creating my own piece of work and also being able to share that piece of work with my fellow dancers."

Two and a half years ago, she moved to New York. Three days after moving into her apartment, she went to her first dance class. Been showing up to workshops ever since — Street Jazz, Contemporary, Bollywood, Hip Hop. Learning, growing, building community.

"the best part about the New York City dance community is being able to meet such amazing, talented people. And through each of the workshops, it's turned into a place where I see more and more familiar faces, which is always really nice, and it's such a warm and welcoming atmosphere."

Sahana's taught before. She's choreographed before. But she's never taught in New York City — and she's doing it with kuthu because "kuthu is so rooted in my identity as a Tamil American."

"I really want to bring that space in the form of dance into New York City. I wanna make it a very fun, very welcoming atmosphere. I definitely want my students to walk away feeling confident in what they're doing, and also just be able to tap into that confidence and fully commit to the choreography."

Her approach: powerful, but accessible. Bold and grounded, but with freedom for dancers to add their own flair.

"I really try to incorporate into my Tamil Fusion styles, and especially with Kuthu styles, is to have certain gimmicky moments. I think that's really fun and really brings out a dancer's individuality when they're given the freedom to do what they want in a very gimmicky like moment."

For this workshop, she's teaching to a mix of three songs: Pistah, Maari, and Kurchi Madathapetti.

"these are songs that are really a core part of my, like childhood to adulthood. I feel like these songs have really made me more proud of my Tamil culture because they're very highly energetic, Tamil songs and very widely popular songs too."

"beyond just learning the choreography, I want somebody to walk away with a sense of community that maybe they've found a friend or that they've learned something new when they're in class. I really want people to walk away with a sense of confidence and a sense of just overall, not just like grasp of the choreography, but also just a way that they were able to give themselves an outlet to enter a space where you feel comfortable, confident, and safe."

That's the thing about kuthu — it's not just about getting the steps right. It's about fully committing. Tapping into that main character energy. Channeling Vijay if you need to.

"leave whatever is going on at work or whatever's going on in the outside world, and then come into a space where you just completely focus on yourself and the choreography, and just being able to tap into your confidence. Also, being able to perform in front of your peers and fully let go and commit."

Road trip or plane trip? "Road trip. Yeah. A hundred percent."

Skydiving or scuba diving? "Skydiving. It's been on my bucket list."

Ocean or mountains? "Ocean. I'm definitely a beach kind of person."

Sunrise or sunset? "Sunset. I hope to be more of a sunrise person, but I'm just not."

Vijay or Surya? "Vijay. A hundred percent. My sister is a Surya fan, so it's like we're always just like competing."

"I'm super excited to host this workshop with ar•ram•bam. I am really passionate about kuthu dancing, and I am super excited for anybody who comes to the workshop as well. And I am super excited to kick off my dance journey, especially when it comes to choreographing and teaching in the city. I'm really, really, honestly excited to meet the people who come. I really want to talk to each and every one of you and make really meaningful connection with you. As somebody who really wants to continue to learn, create, and just genuinely uplift the South Asian community here in New York City, I want to be able to bring that energy to my workshop and share that energy with whoever comes to the workshop as well. And yeah, get ready for some power-packed super high energetic kuthu vibes."

This is how Tamil culture survives in the diaspora — taught in studios by people who grew up pretending to be Vijay, passed on to the next person who shows up ready to commit.

→ watch the full interview with Sahana on YouTube

see you on the dance floor,

as usual, this is just the ar•ram•bam 🫡

the ar•ram•bam team 💎