Los Angeles Dancer Manya Aggarwal On The Power Of Perseverance And Award

For many artists, the journey to self-belief is paved with moments of unexpected validation. For Los Angeles-based dancer and choreographer Manya Aggarwal, that pivotal moment arrived during the global stillness of the 2020 pandemic.

Competing from her home in Mumbai, a then 16-year-old Manya earned a national finalist spot at the prestigious SIFF Young Artiste Awards, an experience that not only recognized her burgeoning talent as a professional dancer, but fundamentally reshaped her understanding of perseverance and artistic identity, which led her to Los Angeles, where she teaches hip-hop dance.

Today, as a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) with a BFA in Dance Performance, a sought-after instructor, and a touring performer, Manya credits that early achievement as the spark that ignited her professional ambitions. Her unique artistic voice, a dynamic fusion of her Indian heritage and contemporary Western styles, continues to captivate audiences and students alike.

The opportunity came at an unlikely time. "During the Covid-19 pandemic, when everything was on lockdown, I received a message from someone about this competition," Manya recalls. "I was severely bored."

Intrigued, she researched the festival and was immediately impressed by its scale and the caliber of its judges, which included some of India’s most celebrated artists like choreographer Terence Lewis and singers Nikita Gandhi and Shalmali Kholgode. "Some of the best artists in India were judging this competition," she notes, highlighting the award's notable reputation in the country.

For the Young Artiste Award competition, Manya submitted a piece that was a true reflection of her emerging style. "I choreographed a desi hip-hop piece on the song 'Vele' from the Bollywood movie 'Student of the Year,'" she explains.

The romcom film was released in 2012, and the song is performed in the movie by Vishal and Shekhar, with lyrics written by songwriter, Anvita Dutt. The music video features acclaimed Bollywood actors Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan, and Alia Bhatt.

This wasn't just a standard hip-hop routine; it was a carefully crafted fusion. "I love creating a new language by mixing hip-hop with Bollywood, and that I do by adding Bollywood essence within hip-hop grooves."

Her innovative approach, which she competed with through multiple rounds, clearly resonated. Aggarwal advanced to the final stage, earning a coveted runner-up award.

She was nominated as a Young Artiste National Finalist for the Hip-Hop category of the Dance and Choreography Award. “I got the runner-up award, making the top 100, where each category had five finalists.”

Awards are nice, but they’re a byproduct of most professions. More significant than the accolade itself, was the profound internal shift it triggered. At 16, Manya entered the competition not with the goal of winning, but simply for the experience. To grow as an artist.

“To be honest, I was not competing in order to win because this was one of my first experiences in a competition,” she admits. “I only wanted more exposure. The fact that I was able to go through so many rounds and actually reach the finals was pretty insane to me at the time. I think it opened the doors of perseverance for me because I didn't have that much belief in myself. Thanks to this experience, I was able to think beyond and pursue dance, knowing that I have it in me.”

This newfound self-belief became the bedrock of her artistic development. After moving to the United States to pursue her BFA at the renowned CalArts, she found herself confronting artistic boundaries, many of which were self-imposed. The lesson of perseverance learned during the Young Artiste competition gave her the courage to break them down.

“I have stopped limiting myself and putting myself in a box,” Manya reflects. “At my time while studying at CalArts, I was super rigid my first year on the idea that I was only a hip-hop dancer. As I spent more time with other styles and educated myself on different ways of seeing dance, my horizons broadened and I don't categorize myself anymore. I am willing to try everything.

This philosophy now defines her career. Manya is a versatile artist with professional-level training in ballet, contemporary, jazz, jazz funk, and heels, in addition to her forte in hip-hop and Bollywood-fusion. Her work elegantly bridges cultures, reflecting her identity as an Indian-born artist shaped by the modern, multicultural landscape of Los Angeles.

This open-minded approach has not only fueled her personal growth but has also become the core of her teaching philosophy. As an instructor at the Ghungroo Dance School in Valencia, California, where she teaches "desi hip-hop" and other street styles, she encourages her students to explore without limits.

“As a teacher, I tell my kids to try everything and not put themselves in a category based on what their parents are telling them or maybe they perceive of themselves,” she says. “This has made me more receptive to experiences.”

Follow @manyadances on Instagram.