On March 3, the CHS Indian Club began holding Bollywood Dance Exercise Classes every Thursday in the CHS dance studio to raise money for autism programs in third world countries.

According to junior Becca Clem, AP Chemistry teacher Jodi Bopanna decided to head the classes along with involvement from Assistant Principal Doreen Brandes and Principal Joan Benz. Because Benz and Bopanna visited schools in India with disabled students over winter break, they were able to get in contact with the schools in order to distribute the funds they raised.

“The classes are a good starting place for raising funds and if more teachers come, we could raise even more money,” junior Michael Chang said. “We have other events planned but they require more time to organize.”

According to junior Hannah Ashe, the dance classes has been effective in raising funds so far. They have raised around $170 and they have only held two classes.

“We chose Bollywood Dance classes because we are raising money for autism programs in India, so it relates back to our cause,” Ashe said.

According to Clem, Boppana chose her and four other students from her AP Chemistry classes to help out with the dance classes. Every week, Clem and four other students create the dances, recruit teachers to participate, and teach the classes themselves. 10-15 teachers have begun attending each week, and the cost to participate is $5 per person. As of right now, only teachers are participating, but students are encouraged to come as well.

“We’ve tried approaching teachers and individuals, and we are already hoping that teachers already involved will encourage others to come as well,” Chang said.