Winning Nationals in Roller Skating to Dancing for Netflix – Part 2

My Journey as a Late-Start Dancer.

If Part 1 was all about running tracks, skating roads, and juggling 10 things at once as a kid — Part 2 is where my actual dance journey begins.

And trust me… it wasn’t straightforward.

Discovering Jazz (Thanks to a Hollywood Movie)

Cut to 2009. I walked into my first Ballet class with Yana Lewis. Around the same time, I watched Chicago for the first time — and Catherine Zeta-Jones completely blew my mind.

That was it. I wanted to be a Jazz dancer.

(Yes… once again, movies were influencing my career decisions. Some things never change. 😂)

At the time, I was studying BCOM at Narsee Monjee. Two years away from graduating, but I didn’t want to waste time. So I enrolled in Mumbai University’s distance program, moved to Bangalore, and trained under Yana for three years to prepare for dance college auditions in the UK.

Starting Ballet at 19 — With No Plan B

First TV Commercial

I still remember Yana warning my parents that starting Ballet at 19 would be extremely challenging.

My dad replied, "If you ask her for 5 repetitions, she will give you 500."

He wasn’t lying.

My days looked like this:

• 4 AM alarms

• Practicing barre work, stretching, strengthening

• Living in a 5-bedroom apartment with 9 other girls

• Training alone before the house woke up

I didn’t know where this path would lead. I definitely didn’t think it would lead to a Hollywood film.

Graduation in 2015

Getting into a Top UK Performing Arts College

After three years of intense training and a long audition process, I secured a spot at Laine Theatre Arts, one of the UK’s top performing arts colleges. Suddenly, the girl who was the youngest in her Bangalore apartment became the oldest student in every class.

College hours were 9 AM to 4 PM, but I knew that wasn’t enough. I had to train outside of class to catch up with dancers who grew up doing Jazz, Contemporary, and Hip Hop — styles I had only heard about until then. Those were some of the toughest years but also some of the most transformative.

Leaving the UK and Starting Over (Again)

Life had a different plan.

Despite my training and auditions, I couldn’t secure a work permit. I returned to Mumbai and started looking for work as a Jazz/Jazz Funk dancer — which was NOT easy in 2015.

It was discouraging, but it pushed me to look beyond India. During that search, I discovered Toronto — yes, a city I knew nothing about until then. 😅 After two years of paperwork, I got my visa, signed with an agent, and even had a few work meetings lined up before I arrived.

Audition shot for Work It

Auditioning for Netflix’s “Work It”

One of the biggest auditions I landed was Work It, starring Sabrina Carpenter, Liza Koshy, Jordan Fisher, and Keiynan Lonsdale.

The first round was a dance call. At the end, they asked us to freestyle across the floor.

Normally I freeze during freestyle, but something inside me said: Show them YOU.

So I planned a freestyle that represented my entire journey:

• Jazz Funk walk-in

• Bharatanatyam fused with Hip Hop and House

• Bollywood

• And finishing with Garba — because as a Gujarati that’s literally in my DNA

A few days later, my agent got a call. The team wanted to see me for acting sides.

During a chat with the director, I casually mentioned my roller skating background — and that single sentence changed everything.

They gave my character, Priya Singh, roller skates.

From racing at nationals to skating in a Netflix film — the full-circle moment I never expected.

What This Journey Taught Me

Here’s the real truth: Nothing in life is wasted. Not the training. Not the detours. Not the moments that felt like dead ends. Your skills follow you everywhere — and sometimes they show up in the most unexpected opportunities. If you feel like you’re behind… you’re not. If you think you started late… you didn’t. If you think your past doesn’t matter… it will.

Everything adds up.