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Lalita's Story

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Lalita is based in Meanjin, Brisbane, Queensland, lands of the Turrbal and Jagera nations.  She pays her respects to elders past, present and emerging.  She acknowledges their wisdom, knowledge, dance, artistry,  healing abilities,  and their powerful connection to nature and country.  
Lalita  (she/her)  is a dance movement therapist and community development worker who loves to journey with others who are seeking transformation and connection through movement and dance. Lalita believes that there is much joy to be found in improvising and dancing together, celebrating everyone’s unique movement style and creating dance in the moment.  

Lalita’s dance experience has included learning and performing Arabic and Indian dance forms including Bollywood and belly dance fusion for many years in Sydney/Eora before returning home to Brisbane/Meanjin, where she threw herself further into learning the north Indian classical dance style of Kathak.  She also loves the colour and happiness of Indian folk styles, and has also tried her hands (and feet) in flamenco.   She draws from all these different influences in her sessions,  infusing them with humour, playfulness, dress ups and beautiful music.
 

Her dance travels took her Bangalore Indian to study Creative Dance Facilitation through the Creative Movement Therapy Association of India in 2018 and is she now a certified Creative Dance Facilitator.  The course is certified by CID-UNESCO (International Dance Council, France) and the Creative Movement Therapy Association of India.  She then completed a Master of Creative Arts Therapy- Dance Movement Therapy through University of Melbourne and is a professional member of ANZACATA (Australian New Zealand Creative Art Therapies Association), and the Indian Association of Dance Movement Therapy (IADMT).
 
As a community development worker Lalita has worked extensively with refugee and migrant communities, and has a Graduate Diploma in Community Development, and Master in Human Services.    She has held dance and movement workshops for many different groups, ages and ability ranges including older people, children, multicultural communities, local neighbourhood centres, and community teams.    She is currently working as a Dance Movement Therapist with a not-for-profit and with groups in community settings and has also worked as a DMT in clinical settings. 
 

Examples of the workshops and programs she has facilitated in recent years includes- 

  • International Women’s Day events for Benarrawa Community Development Association, Inala Community Hub, Sherwood Neighbourhood Centre and Calamvale Special School

  • Refugee Week- Inala Community Hub

  • Community week- Gailes Community House

  • Schools as Community Hubs- Communify-

  • Mental Health Week- Sherwood Neighbourhood Centre and Inala Community Hub

  • Mental Health Week- collaborations with Creative Art Therapies Qld

  • ACT for Kids- Team building

  • Seniors Week- Gailes Community House

  • QUT- Student Services

  • Creative Movement Therapy Association of India- Central Zone chapter
     

Lalita is also a member of the Greater Brisbane Creative Arts Therapy Collective which organises events and activities that showcase the power, beauty and artistry of Creative Arts Therapies.


Photo by Krystal Beazley AppleJack-Effectz

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