Aryan Patel
What companies/classes are you currently in?
I am currently in every company, or it just feels like it. I’m in Senior Cats with Mickey, Tap Cats and Hoofers Club with George, Hip Hop Company and Hip Hop Elite with Lauren Elsasser, Voice with Elaine and (of course) Pre-Professional Acting with Stephen. And then whatever other dances the teachers feel like putting me in.
When did you start at Center Stage?
I started at Center Stage in the sixth grade as a member of the junior 2/3 company, I also started assisting (the goat) Lauren Elsasser my first year.
Do you remember your first dance routine?
My first routine ever was some kind of hip hop dance, I don’t remember. My mom (manager) probably knows. My first dances at Center Stage were dances like Drills, Sing Sing Sing with George, and somewhere only we know with Tori. AND Mimes with Lauren.
What was your Center Stage journey?
I came to Center Stage the summer before sixth grade because my old dance studio closed down. It was Me, my sister Tara, Sanya and Anisa (the squad fr). I was definitely very lost with everything and I was the new boy so it took me a while to find my people. In my second year, I started making a lot of friends, most who were older than me and whom I'm still friends with to this day. They were like older dance siblings, so shoutout Julia, Greg and Adam. That same year, I also met the kid who would eventually become my bestest friend I ever had at dance, a quiet Asian guy named Edison L Yang. In my 3rd year, I was a senior cat Apprentice and was having a great learning year and then everything was ruined when covid came. I'll be honest I was super unmotivated and just wanted to sit on my couch all day playing Fortnite with Adam. But, we came back better than ever. That year, I saw a bunch of my friends graduate. But, then funny enough, I found my current friend group after I assisted the junior company with (my dance mom and funkle) Lauren and Tori, and some of the kids invited me to play Dungeons and Dragons. Since, then I have grown as a dancer, teacher and a person. Now, in my last year, I am just doing me and living life.
Why has it been worth all of the energy you’ve put into it and the sacrifices you’ve made?
I think there are 2 big reasons why I have stuck with dance so long. 1) I am a storyteller and there is not a better feeling than letting a story take over your body and sharing it with the world. 2) My friends. I like to call it a cycle in a way. When, I was a freshman a lot of my close friends were seniors that I could look up to. And now, all of my friends are younger than me, so it's definitely cool to carry on that cycle. And I guess I have to give credit to my younger friends for that (Sofia Pender, Allen, Charles, Julia, Christian, and Edison, there are more but I don't feel like typing it all out)
What other outside of school activities do you do?
Nothing. CenterStage rules my life with an Iron Fist. Or at least it did for a little since my mom works at CS so we would have to go when she went early. But now that I drive, I was able to do theater and peak my other interests for my career. I am an award winning filmmaker and led my high school's production of The Great Gatsby as Nick Carraway.
What are the perks and perils of being a boy dancer?
Oh boy, I don't even know.
A big peril is definitely the Judgement from the girls. It takes a lot to decipher whether you deserve the spot you were given in a dance or if you're in the center because you are a boy and the dance will get extra (pp) points. The girls tend to group up and then I was kinda left alone so I just became friends with the other boys.
And that can transition to a perk, the closeness of the boys. When I first came, the older boys did not interact with the younger boys. But, since Covid, I've made it very important that we all are a little family. Sure we fight and argue (Charlie and Allen), and we annoy each other to no end (Max), and we try our hardest to fool each other (madagascar…), but we all look out for each other and cheer each other on. Because at the end of the day, we are one big happy, slightly dysfunctional family :) And we do superlatives at the end of the year ( Guys I promise I'll finish the slideshow this year).
Although you’ve spent most of your time at Center Stage in dance classes, and have become a wonderful dancer, you decided fairly early on that your life path was as an actor. What’s the appeal? And how did you know so young?
I have always been intrigued and excited to dance on-Stage but I never really knew why until I started acting. I realized that the thing that makes my dancing mesmerizing isn't my (lack of) technique, how high I can jump, or my turns; it was the fact that I can tell stories. Over my years at CS, I have been allowed to explore who I am as an artist and I found that, for me, Acting is the purest and most vulnerable art form, and that is what I want to share with the world.
Is there anybody that has a career that you would like to emulate?
There are definitely a few people. My favorite actor of all time is Joseph Gordon Levitt, he plays the characters that I can see myself playing one day. I also look up to Dev Patel, because he is 1) amazing, and 2) an Indian Actor who can captivate an audience is an industry lacking people who look like us.
What book/movie/play/tv show do you think everybody should experience, and why?
This is a very good question, yes I like it. My favorite book series is the whole Percy Jackson Universe, I've read it like 6-7 times, it's so good, the reason why I like learning about other mythologies.
TV show wise, as an anime enjoyer, I would say Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, and Vinland Saga. They just confront idealistic issues and make you sort of rethink your life. And of course Pokemon because it's amazing and I love it and its been my favorite video game and Tv series since forever.
The Laramie Project is a great play to watch, definitely in the 21st century, with the way it invokes change and combats hate crimes.
I can't pick one movie, but Whiplash is really good. LALALAND IS THE GREATEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME(shoutout pender). And don't hate on Cars 2, simply just art and the best movie in the franchise. Argue with a wall.
You’ve been assisting classes at Center Stage for a while, and this year you actually got your own class. What are your feelings about sharing this with younger kids?
Giving back is a great feeling, and I feel like assistants can help younger students coming from a different angle than teachers. It is much easier for an older student to become close to a younger student because we know what it was like to be the younger student. We can also give them advice and outside of that class, we see each other around the studio. So it helps people become closer and just overall creates the family aspect I love about Center Stage. And I love my kids. They are awesome, but the real superstar is my assistant Frank. I assisted a Hip Hop class Frank was in my first year. Now my last year, he is my assistant and I couldn't have asked for anyone better.
If you could wave your magic wand and fix one problem in the world, what would you pick?
There are so many issues in the world, its insane. But for me, I would fix the overbearing stress and fear in people, especially teens and young adults. The amount of people I have seen break down or psych themselves out is very disheartening, and these are some of our prime years, we gotta make the most of them.
What do you wish you knew how to do that you can’t right now?
Juggle (George…) nah I'm playing. Point my feet or do a split, yeah that probably would have helped me in my dance career. Ooo, talk to women, that is something I've always wanted to do.
What’s next?
College. I'm going to be studying at BOSTON UNIVERSITY(!!!!) as an acting major, eventually becoming a big actor and a household name, so remember the name Aryan Patel!
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In ten years, I will be watching myself at movie premieres. And you all will be watching me on the big screen when I become a movie star and getting me my money by buying my merchandise, and I live in my house with my dogs and my wife, perhaps kids
Will you come back to visit Center Stage, or are you gone for good when you’re out the door?
Nah, I’m out.
Don’t fret, I am just joking. I still have my mom working and my sister dancing and doing all that stuff (shoutout Kcpats725 and T-Daw). I owe a lot to Center Stage for making me who I am today and setting me up for the future. I also need to come back to see my friends and go to Yankee games with Jon. And you know I can’t leave my boy Edison alone, he’ll cry.