Taiis Pascal,
Taiis Pascal is a daughter of New York City, the only city in the world where every culture can live, survive, and flourish. As a lover of many different cultures, Taiis was drawn in particular to the culture of Odissi dance at the tender age of eleven where it was love at first sight after seeing an Odissi performance at the temple she attended in 1986. She began practicing every week and performed in different temples and festivals with the loving guidance of her first teacher, Deva Deva Jagatpate. Odissi dance occupied a larger place in her life when she met her current dance teacher Bani Ray who she traveled with on a trip to India in 1999. This is the moment in Taiis', life when her love and passion for odissi grew after intensive training with her dance guru in India, Durga Charan Ranbir. Odissi dance no longer was a hobby, it became her way of life, as the daughter of New York city, Odissi dance is a culture she can call her own.