PC: Allie Mullin (https://www.alliemullin.com/)

We’re excited to introduce Lara Goodrich Ezor, who has been teaching BollyX in Durham, NC since May 2017! For a significant portion of that time, she was the only active BX instructor in North Carolina. To date, Lara has collectively taught over 130 classes at multiple locations around the Durham area.

How did she get her start as a BollyX instructor? She took a chance on BollyX. While Lara was living in Somerville, MA a couple of years ago, she started attending BollyX classes at Dance Union in Union Square. She had no previous exposure to the class and no dance experience to speak of, but decided to give it a try. After the first class, she was totally hooked. (Lara’s favorite BollyX songs are the ones she’s loved since the beginning: Tu Meri, Sadi Gali and Superman!)

Life took Lara to North Carolina where BollyX had not debuted yet. So, she decided to take matters into her own hands. Back in Boston for a work trip, she enrolled in a live instructor training workshop with Fen Tung. A few months later, after tons of at-home choreo practice, she launched her first BollyX class at a community dance space, Living Arts Collective, in her neighborhood. Now, Lara also teaches weekly classes at Threehouse Studios and at the Wilson Gym at Duke University. 

She met us before one of her classes at Duke, and when asked why she is so dedicated to BollyX, her immediate response was: “BollyX is joyful movement. You feel energized at the end of a workout and you’re not just in it to check ‘exercise’ off your to-do list. You can’t help but smile even though you’re sweating SO much!”