Pallavi is a Kuchipudi dancer who has been practising the dance form for the last 25 years. She feels proud to share the beauty of classical dance with the younger generation in the USA.

Pallavi Madhabushi is a Kuchipudi dance practitioner currently residing in Charlotte, USA. She hails from Hyderabad and moved to the USA after her marriage. Pallavi runs her dance classes in the US under the name ‘Pallavi Academy of Kuchipudi Dance’, and over hundred students learn under her supervision.

Recalling her childhood, Pallavi shares that she was never keen on dancing until she turned seven. Thereafter, she learned dance from her mother, who used to take dance training sessions. Pallavi did her schooling at St. Ann's High School, followed by her engineering in Electronics and Communications.

However, she never truly looked forward to working in the field. Since dance continued to be her passion, Pallavi pursued her Masters in Kuchipudi from the University of Silicon Valley, California. She is looking forward to doing her PhD in Kuchipudi.

Describing her struggles, Pallavi says it is not easy to pursue a career in dance, which comes with its own ups and downs. She says that facing the audience at the initial stages of her career was quite challenging. But Pallavi kept her confidence boosted by performing in several festivals in Kerala, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad. She feels that, owing to the support of her mother, she could easily surpass a few challenges that came her way.

Speaking of her achievements, Pallavi says that she has been a recipient of the Sur Singar title and was given a scholarship by the Government of India. She feels proud to have her own dance school in Charlotte.

When asked about her mistakes, Pallavi says she regrets opting for engineering, a field she was not that keen on pursuing but chose out of peer pressure. She feels she should have given that chunk of time to something she really wanted to pursue.

If given the opportunity to travel back in time in a time machine, Pallavi would devote more of her time to dancing.

Talking about her role models, Pallavi says she draws inspiration from her mother, who has also been her dance guru. Pallavi shares that every year her mother flies to the US to pay a visit to her dance school and train her students better. She also feels inspired by her second guru,  Shobha Naidu, who was her mother’s teacher and a renowned Kuchipudi dancer.

When under stress, Pallavi likes to spend time with her friends and family. She considers her daughter her best stress-buster.

Her success mantra is ‘Luck might favour or not favour, but hard work always pays off.’