On Saturday, April 9th, Natyanjali Dance School performed Temple Dance of India – A Universal Language at the Lanier High School Fine Arts Theater. The admission was free, but donations were accepted for both the studio and the Sankara Eye Foundation (SEF), which the performance was benefiting. The Sankara Eye Foundation is an organization that works to eradicate curable blindness in India. During the show, a spokeswoman was invited onto the stage to talk about SEF and its mission.

“We have 55 million blind in India,” the spokeswoman said. “That’s 55 times the population of Austin. Just imagine everyone in Austin being blind. It’s mind blowing how many people are blind.”

According the spokeswoman, 80% of blind in India can be cured with laser eye surgery.

“For my own selfish reasons I wanted to live here,” the spokeswoman said. “But a part of me wants to give back to the place where I come from and Sankara Eye Foundation was my answer.”

Leading up to the show, Natyanjali dancers practiced for six to seven hours, twice a week, for about a year.

“We chose to do this performance because dance is something we have loved for several years,” Dancer Anjali Segu ‘19 said. “We wanted to challenge ourselves as dancers and do a professional show to grow into stronger and more skilled dancers.”

Natyanjali is performing the show again in San Antonio on Sunday, April 17, at the Carver Community Cultural Center. This show will also be free and accept donations to the school, SEF, and the San Antonio Animal Rescue.