In what can be called a dancer's worst nightmare, Nirali Someshwar suffered a near fatal accident in July last year, fractured her femur bone and was bedridden for three months. In less than six months though, she was back on her feet and doing what she likes best – dancing and teaching dance to her students. Proficient in 13 dance forms (including Bharatnatyam, Odissi, Kathak, Latin American, Meringue, Hip hop and Indian folk dances), Someshwar has also been a regular at dance shows on the small screen, since she was a teen.

"I started dancing at the age of three years in our community cultural programmes, where my grandmom used to take me. It was she who persuaded my parents to give me formal training in dance. I was trained by Guru Mallika Valsalan in Mumbai and it was because of her expert training that I was able to perform my arangetram at the age of 11," says the 22-year-old.

"In 2004, I started out by teaching Bharatnatyam to two students and enrolled over 25 students in just two months. After that, there was no looking back. My dance school is called Kala Sadhana, which I now plan to take to a whole new level by starting a chain of dance studios, with a dedicated faculty and a minimum of four shows per year," adds Someshwar.

Her lucky streak was interrupted for a while last year when in an accident, she suffered shock-induced memory loss, fractured thigh and had three broken ribs. "I was returning from Mumbai with Voice of India star Ishmeet Singh, when the tyre burst and the car hit a tree with such force that both of us were rendered unconscious. Thankfully, some passersby helped us and took us to a nearby hospital, where timely medical help and immense cooperation from doctors helped me get back in shape in just six months," informs the young Gujarati dancer, who's also a student of architecture.

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