“Bainbridge High School junior Sai Prakash has been practicing Indian classical dance for nearly eight years and is prepared to make her debut in Seattle Aug. 1.

Prakash is of Indian descent. She was born in New Zealand, and her family moved to the United States when she was six-months-old. Prakash moved to BI two years ago from Mercer Island.

The style of dance Prakash has been practicing over the years is called Bharatanatyam, which originated in southern India. In ancient India, this form of dance was the basic mode of entertainment. People would go dancing from city to city praising the king that they were living with, and they would tell their stories through dance and music, Prakash said.

“It’s like a play almost; you kind of act out different scenes,” Prakash said. “The dances are all kind of based on stories of Hindu gods. You just act out important scenes that have happened in Indian history and ancient mythology. This dance is very important to Indians. There’s just so much history behind it.””

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