By Janan Dave

Nearly three years ago, I sat in the basement of my friend Sonal’s house in the suburbs of New

Jersey. Sonal and I had been close friends since high school, and now, after graduating college,

we were back at her house, the same one we grew up hanging out in, but this time, with one of

her friends from college, Mariam. The three of us stayed up late watching dance videos on

YouTube, and reminisced about our college dance teams. We had all recently graduated, and I

think were still reeling from the transition into “adulthood.”

As I know well now, adult life can be lonely and even isolating sometimes. Everyone gets caught

up with work, your friends are often spread across the country or even the world, and making

new friends in new cities can be really hard. It’s not always easy to find meaningful connection

over endless mimosas at boozy brunch!

What started out as a conversation about how much we missed the little communities we had

found at college – mostly through our dance teams – became the early foundation for Ayana

Arts, a South Asian arts collective the three of us co-founded.

Our mission with Ayana was to bring together young professionals around New York City with a

passion for performing and creating; but, I think we all also were hoping to build a community

for ourselves – a group of fast friends we could lean on as we transitioned into working, adult

life.

Three years later, Ayana has quite literally become the community we were envisioning back in

that basement in New Jersey, but it’s taken on a life of it’s own. From three girls, to fifteen, to

now thirty artists from across the tri-state area, Ayana has blossomed into a group of friends

who come together to create dance, music, and art, but also a group of friends that are always

down for a night out or a night in together. Even more, Ayana Arts is now officially a 501c3,

which fulfills the dream we originally had of creating a group in which artists come together not

only because they share a passion for the arts, but also because they want to connect with and

give back to the New York community.

Investing yourself in something creative, bringing someone’s vision to life on a stage, and

collaborating with others to do this, requires a lot of trust and intimacy. It brings people closer

in ways that most things our day to day lives just can’t. I think it’s why our little group—even

when we don’t spend a ton of time together—feels like family. It’s why, even though I don’t

actually live in NY, I stick with Ayana. When I left to work in India for a year, Ayana continued to

grow but always kept me a part of the fun. They Facetimed me into birthday dinners and sent

videos from practices. And now, even though I live in Philly, I’ve been joining practice via Skype

and preparing for Ayana’s third annual showcase remotely.

Keep on the lookout for our newest performance coming soon to you this fall!

How Ayana Came To Be