Ms. Jothi Dugar was born and raised in Silver Spring, MD. As the only child in her family, she entertained herself by learning and mastering a slew of arts, sports, and other activities. Her favorite art was dance! She trained in the Indian Classical Style of Bharathnatyam for 25 years and had her Arangetram (a professional full three hour performance with a live orchestra) at the age of 16.
In her adult years, Jothi wanted to explore other styles of dance, so she branched out and learned Bhangra, Hip Hop, Bollywood, Salsa, and many more. She created a style of her own called BollyNatyam that combined Indian Classical footwork and hand gestures with more modern and up beat Indian/American fusion music to engage the kids of the modern age yet honor the old heritage that she learned.
Based on her experience in dancing, competing, and a variety of other physical sports, she learned the importance of training dancers on a 360 level, meaning Jothi did not want kids to believe that dancing is merely a memorization of steps in preparation for a performance. Therefore in every class, she dedicates time to learn and enhance all the necessary skills that are important for a well rounded dancer and athlete such as endurance, flexibility, strength, and stamina. In addition, she strongly believes that every dancer must learn to enhance and control their mental and emotional states as well, therefore all classes include yoga & meditation time and some time to just let go and let loose!
Jothi lives in Virginia with her husband, three kids, and two dogs. She has a full time job in Cybersecurity for the Federal Government by day, as well as a Holistic Welnness Practice that she founded called Power Of Healing 360. To learn more about Jothi, please visit http://www.jothidugar.com.
