Michelle Antony has the honour of dancing before Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the former Governor of the State of West Bengal, India, and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, on November 18.
The Arkles Bay teenager performs her Jesus Geetham Dance at the Catholic Church of Christ the King in Mt Roskill at 3pm.
The Catholic Bishop of Auckland, Bishop Patrick Dunn, will officiate this interfaith gathering honouring Nobel Laureate, the late Mother Teresa of Kolkata, India, paying tribute to her service to the poor.
This is not Michelle’s first time performing for a large and distinguished audience.
More than 700 guests attended the Bharathanatya Arangetram at the Telstra Pacific Events Centre where Michelle’s Jesus Geetham Dance was one of 11 performed on the night. She raised $1200 for the Hibiscus Hospice as a result.
Michelle has been learning Bharata Natyam traditional style of Indian dancing from her guru Kalaichchelvi Uthayakumaran for eight years. She also teaches the dancing style to four and five-year-olds on Saturdays.
Michelle stayed in Botany Downs to be closer to her guru, and rehearsed from 8.30am to 9pm daily in the fortnight leading up to her graduation. The Antony family prepared for 18 months prior, with Michelle’s mother Maggie driving her to Botany Downs after school almost every day over the past three months so she could rehearse.
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