“After my daily interactions with Alison Pletcher, my community mentor, I wanted to be able to provide the same exact support to other BollyX instructors. It is so incredible that people in the community are willing to take such keen interest in and invest time on you and set you up for success.”~Roshini Rangarajan, BollyX Instructor (and now Community Mentor!) in the Greater Chicago area
Roshini was originally motivated to become a dance instructor in order to raise money for Vibha, a Social Venture Catalyst that supports grass root ideas that solve systemic problems related to underprivileged children. She chose BollyX because she thought it would be a good way to stay connected to her roots.
Roshini signed up to be a BollyX instructor and was trained by Dalia Debs in September of 2017. A month later, she taught her first class at a Vibha event. After that, with Meredith Higgin’s support, she started to teach at Xsport in Naperville, IL.
Roshini later interacted with Fen Tung (Boston), who suggested that Roshini take advantage of the Post-Training Mentorship Program offered as part of the BollyX training curriculum. Shortly thereafter, she was paired with Community Mentor Alison Pletcher. Alison was a great mentor and friend to Roshini. She helped work with Roshini on choreography and dance technique, helped her realize the importance of pre-cueing, and also helped her build a community in the area! Roshini found the mentorship program to be very beneficial and embraced the feedback with much optimism.
“I loved the feedback and the ability to keep learning [in reference to the BollyX Post-Training Mentorship Program]. The more opportunities you have to learn, the more chance you have at success!”
Ever since going through the PTM program, Roshini says she has understood the principles of teaching BollyX better. She feels an increase in confidence as she teaches her weekly classes and the larger group community events. Now, she is leading her own workshops as a Community Mentor and feels an immense sense of responsibility as she is out there representing BollyX.
Roshini also wanted to share that she was truly touched when an individual, who had recently endured brain surgery, came to her class to try BollyX for the first time and stayed all the way through the end. She feels that PTM prepared her to have the confidence and capability as an instructor to modify choreography for that individual so she could have a safe and wonderful experience. In Roshini’s words, “There is a big difference between just being ready and doing it right. PTM taught me how to do this right and showed me what a powerhouse of information our portal has-which I clearly overlooked earlier.”
Thank you for sharing your story with us, Roshini! You’ve truly taken your love and passion for BollyX to the next level and we know that you will help other BX community members move onward and upward! Good luck at your upcoming Vibha event on March 10th – we cannot wait to see all your pictures and Instagram posts!
