Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1027958
16 PAT R O N S | FA L L 2 0 1 8 p r o g r e s s n o t e s "I would copy it and what I didn't remember, I would make up. So I was already choreographing before I knew there was a term for it," says Mahajan. Although they were huge Bollywood movie fans, his parents were concerned about their young son's obsession with the films. "I remember my mother frowning upon it. Because you just didn't do that," he recalls. "Boys didn't dance." At that time Palos Verdes had little diversity. He was frequently teased in school about his Indian culture. "I was asked questions that I didn't know how to answer, like, 'Why does your mom have a dot on her forehead?'" he says. "So my Indian culture was made fun of, yet when I got home, I found solace in it." The solace came at the time he was also accused in school of being gay. "I'm now being teased for being gay without knowing I'm gay," he says. At 16, an invitation to perform in a local variety show in the Indian community was the catalyst for his parents to accept his passion. He and a friend created a routine that melded Bollywood with the moves of contemporary influencers, such as Michael Jackson and Paula Abdul. After the show, his father confessed the performance had brought him to tears. His performance created a snowball effect, as community members began inviting Mahajan to give them dance lessons. "I remember telling my mother—I'm going to be a choreographer. And she's like what, a photographer?" he laughs. His dad supported his dream but insisted he get training, so Mahajan enrolled in Indian classical dance classes. After high school he attended the University of California Riverside, with a sociology major and dance minor. Post college, Mahajan opened up NDM Bollywood Dance Studios— the first Bollywood dance school in the United States—in Artesia, in an area known as Little India. The opening was timed perfectly with the emerging Bollywood dance phenomenon, just prior to the release of the Oscar-winning film, "Slumdog Millionaire." He began getting calls for small jobs in TV and movies, which eventually led to an interview for the show "So You Think You Can Dance." "The next week, they booked me for my first episode. It was the third-highest viewed YouTube clip for that week. It went viral." He has since become a regular on the show, choreographing two to three Bollywood-themed episodes per season. With his career on the rise at 38, Mahajan decided to get honest with his parents about another part of his life. He decided to tell them he was gay. "I shared with them all the pain I had gone through. There were times when I had contemplated whether I should even live," he says. "I LOVE HOW THE NURSES DIDN'T JUST GIVE THEIR ATTENTION, LOVE AND GUIDANCE TO ME, BUT THEY EXTENDED IT TO THE FIVE OTHER PEOPLE WHO SHOWED UP AT MY FIRST APPOINTMENT." Nakul Dev Mahajan shares his story of cancer survival at the recent Hunt Cancer Center groundbreaking. to his left: Robert Figlin, MD, FACP Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; to his right: Craig Leach, president/CEO, Torrance Memorial Medical Center.