When UT alumna Aishwarya Addepalli started making videos on TikTok as @aishuadd, she said she never thought it would grow to encompass the nearly 750,000 followers she reaches today.

“I was just bored at home in 2020 and I started making content,” Addepalli said. “At first, it was a puppy account. … After that, I was like, ‘OK, let me make some fun videos with Bharatanatyam fusion with these popular sounds that seem fun.’”

As she transitioned to content focused on Bharatanatyam, an Indian classical dance, Addepalli took the dance form that was usually accompanied by classical Indian music and merged it with popular songs on TikTok. In doing so, she combined parts of two different cultures while reflecting the South Asian American experience, she said.

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“My passion definitely drove me to continue (dance),” Addepalli said. “It taught me a lot about my culture not only as a South Indian but also the Hindu stories, takeaways and meanings.”

Addepalli started training in Bharatanatyam at 5 years old. Having grown up in the United States, Addepalli said the dance style gave her an outlet to connect to her culture.

“We’re thrown into this new and untouched experience of being South Asian American where we can’t ignore either side, and we can’t just embrace one side,” Addepalli said. “There’s a unique beauty in the perspectives we have … where our entire identity is being a fusion of two cultures. It’s almost like a representation of our life stories, and who else can tell that story other than the ones living it?”

Addepalli’s videos gained popularity as she attracted recognition from prominent figures in the entertainment industry. Her dancing attracted the attention of singers Lizzo and even Doja Cat, who included her on the Spotify video for the song “Woman.”

“I still get so excited when something goes to a million views,” Addepalli said. “I’m just amazed. This is what it means to put Bharatanatyam on the map here.”

Through her videos, Addepalli inspires others to embrace the dance form, said economics senior Divyaa Cherian.

“When dancers and even little girls see these types of videos, they may feel seen by these videos,” Cherian said. “They feel encouraged to learn.”

In addition to showcasing Bharatanatyam, Addepalli also addresses social challenges present against and within the Indian American community.

“My first ever viral video was addressing the fact that many Westerners don’t (think of) Eastern dance forms as dance,” Addepalli said. “They don’t consider it as art and they don’t consider it as an athletic capability.”

Some other topics Addepalli discusses in her videos include colorism within the Indian community and the stigmas surrounding hyperpigmentation that many darker-skinned individuals might face.

“It’s really sad because there’s so much beauty in our culture, our cultural clothing, the way we present ourselves and the really sacred and significant ideologies behind dark skin,” Addepalli said. “But there’s just so much that is missed because of color (in the Indian community) because of the long-lasting effects of colonialism. I constantly just strive to be that representation (against it).”

Public health sophomore Naimisha Vunnam said she found Addepalli’s TikTok about hyperpigmentation specifically impactful as it reflected some of the feelings she felt.

“As a slightly darker-skinned South Indian person, I have hyperpigmentation as well, and having it above her eyes, I remember her saying that she uses it as her natural eyeshadow,” Vunnam said. “It (is) really nice to see other people that look like you embracing the things that make them different.”