One night in Mumbai, under the open sky, Cate Smith found herself drenched to the bone. It was the ‘Queen of Dandiya’ Falguni Pathak’s show. The dhol thundered as loudly as the clouds above, and fireworks lit up the horizon. The rain came down in sheets, yet not a single dancer stopped. Cate didn’t either. Aussie Garba dancer
“That moment was like heaven and earth collided,” she recalls. “I lost myself to the collective – it was incredibly powerful and emotional. A core memory for sure.”
For the 57-year-old Perth-based primary school teacher, that night at Navratri last year wasn’t just about dance. It was about belonging.
Today, her story has found itself a sweet spot in the Humans of Bombay page, with her video garnering over 60,000 likes and hundreds of comments. Aussie Garba dancer
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DANCE BASANTI
Cate’s love story with garba began years earlier, through the Bollywood Dance Studio in Australia where she met her friend Abi. The owner of the studio would disappear to India every year to celebrate Navratri, returning with photos and videos of her beautiful chaniya choli. “It made us very curious,” Cate recalls. “I attended a few garba workshops at the studio and I was hooked. Then, a visiting singer came to Perth and we decided to go for a garba event.”
That night in 2019, Cate and Abi turned up at a community garba gathering without knowing a single step, watching the circle with wide-eyed curiosity. But in the final 20 minutes, Cate decided to dive in. “It was exhilarating. I was so welcomed into the circle, with people encouraging me even when I got confused. I was hooked.”
Dance, of course, had always been part of Cate’s life. As a teenager, she trained in jazz, tap, ballet, and contemporary, even dancing professionally before life, marriage, and motherhood pressed pause on her passion. It was Bollywood films that reignited the flame—“a kaleidoscope of colour, music, dance and emotion,” she says. Hours in her lounge room rewinding and re-learning signature moves eventually led her to the Bollywood dance studio in Perth, where she met Maitri, a teacher from Mumbai who introduced her to garba.
“It was joy personified,” Cate says. “Maitri’s passion was infectious, and the more I learned, the more my appreciation grew.” Aussie Garba dancer
HAALO HAALO!
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That curiosity bloomed into a dream – Cate and Abi longed to one day celebrate Navratri in India. Though the pandemic delayed their plans, last year, they finally made it. For Cate, the experience was both humbling and transformative. “People thanked me for embracing their culture, but honestly, I was the grateful one. To be welcomed so warmly into something so sacred was a gift.”
Back home in Perth, Cate now brings that spirit to her own celebrations. As a primary school teacher, she sneaks music and movement into her classroom, knowing how naturally children connect with dance. She also choreographs for adults and kids, blending her Western training with Bollywood beats.
But garba holds a place of its own in her heart. “It isn’t just dance,” she says. “It’s tradition, reverence, and community. In a fast-moving world, it’s comforting to know people still make time for this.”
At 57, Cate is living proof that joy has no age limit. “Life is too short for regrets. Follow those stirrings of your heart to try something new,” she advises. “Yes, it will feel messy and confusing at times, but that moment you finally master a step—it’s magic. My heart still smiles every time I learn a new garba move.”
For this Aussie Garba dancer, the Navratri dance is more than footwork or rhythm – it is connection. “When I dance garba, I am totally lost in the moment. The heritage and tradition of Navratri, and the respect Indian communities hold for it, are not lost on me. That’s why it feels so special. It’s not just something I do – it’s something I belong to.”
READ MORE: Ten Bollywood Garba songs for Navratri 2025
