Azalea queen is an all-American girl, but she’s proud of her Indian heritage
By John Staton
Staff Writer
Published: Monday, March 23, 2009 at 4:10 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, March 23, 2009 at 6:27 p.m.
Talk about striking while the iron is hot.
With “Slumdog Millionaire” sweeping the Academy Awards, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on the national political stage and Indian styles turning up on reality dance shows, there couldn’t have been a better year than 2009 for the Azalea Festival to select its first Indian-American queen.
Amrapali Ambegaokar, aka Queen Azalea LXII, is a dancer, actress and singer from Los Angeles. Steeped in both American culture and her Indian heritage, Ambegaokar, 30, was a drum major and a pageant queen in high school, but she learned kathak, or classical Indian dance, from her mother, a world-renowned kathak dancer and choreographer.
Ambegaokar’s credits include being a principal dancer with acclaimed circus troupe Cirque du Soleil, with which she performed more than 750 shows; winning a silver medal on reality show “Superstars of Dance;” and guest spots on “Boston Legal” and “Heroes.”
She recently called the Star-News from her home in L.A. for a chat.
First of all, will you say your name, slowly, for all of the pronunciation-challenged Southerners out there?
(Laughs). Sure, it’s Amrapali Ambegaokar (Om-ra-PA-li Om-beh-GOW-ker). It’s pretty easy to get, once you read it and you say it a couple of times. It’s phonetic.
So, you kind of grew up in two cultures at once. What was that like for you, and how did it affect you either as a performer or as a person?
My parents came (to the United States) when they were in their early 20s, and they’ve now been here 40-plus years. They’re the typical immigrant generation of Indians that have, you know, come here to better their lives. Both of them have double master’s degrees and they’re absolutely brilliant. I’m an only child, so, pretty much growing up, I’m an American, I always have been. It’s funny to me that sometimes people get surprised that I have an American accent because I look Indian. I’m like, c’mon guys! (laughs) I’m an American-born Indian and I’m very American in some ways. That’s the culture that’s ingrained in me.
But at the same time you were exposed to your parents’ culture as well.
Totally, totally. Mom’s an international dance master at kathak, which is Indian classical dance and she’s actually recognized in the States for it. The National Endowment for the Arts, the NEA, they give awards to artists every year for different media, but she was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship, which is like a lifetime achievement award, for her pioneering award in Indian classical dance (in 2004). I wanted to give that example because it’s the juxtaposition of Indian culture being recognized by Americans and having that duality and having those two, kind of, you know, hold hands or interlace fingers.
Speaking of the NEA, with everything that’s going on the with the economy some politicians are saying, well, maybe they don’t need as much money. How do you feel about that?
(Laughs) You know, a lot of the politicians just say that stuff to scare people. That’s not really what’s happening. The arts always definitely need a little more financial attention, especially when it comes to classical dance, classical music.
The fine arts are really struggling, aren’t they – classical music, opera, ballet?
Right, and those are the art forms that are the foundation of any other pop art that comes out and that’s what creates longevity: Learning classical music, learning classical dance as a child, even if it’s for four or five years, that training, that discipline never goes away. “Superstars of Dance” is a really good example of how that’s changing. It was really, really exciting for me to be recognized in Indian classical dance.
What do you think about this explosion of dance shows in the past couple of years?
It’s looong overdue! (laughs) It’s so long overdue it’s not funny. It’s fantastic to see people interested in dance.
You act, dance, sing – if you had to pick just one, would it be dance?
Well, you know, it’s actually the opposite for me. Growing up as a dancer I always wanted to act, I wanted to sing, I wanted to do everything. So if anything I’d like to increase the number of mediums I can do as an artist as opposed to scale down, you know? If I had it my way I’d be on set every single day or I’d be doing a new film, you know?
Do you have to work to not be pigeonholed as “the Indian girl”?
No, it is what it is, you know? I’m not one of those actors who’s like, “Oh yeah, it’s so tough.” I’m the opposite. There’s tons of roles for us, you know? It’s absolutely amazing. I said to my mom about 10 years ago, I was like, “Mom, just wait, in the next 10 years Indians in Hollywood are going to blow up.” And, you know, look at this year with the Oscars and “Slumdog (Millionaire).”
I was going to ask you about that. What did you think about the movie itself, and what do you think about the great success that it’s had?
It’s fantastic. It’s a nod to Indians everywhere trying to make a mark in the arts and trying to be recognized on a global level. It’s truly remarkable.
Do you feel like this is going to open the door for more Indian-themed films in America, or is it just a flash in the pan?
Well, look at what happened with the (Hispanic) culture about 10 or 15 years ago and even before that, with Gloria Estefan and Jennifer Lopez and Penelope Cruz and all of these actors and dancers and singers. You know, they created this well-lit road, if you will, and they were kind of the pioneers. It’s been assimilated beautifully and I’m looking forward to having that happen with our culture, too.
Speaking of that, you’re the first Indian-American Azalea Queen. Is that one of the reasons you wanted to do it?
It kind of just came up and it was offered and I was kind of just, well, sure, I’d love to. It’s a wonderful honor and you can’t say no to an honor. It was really just that simple. My motto in life has always been to break boundaries, and I love pioneering in different aspects of life, big or small.
John Staton: 343-2343
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