Lakshmi Basile began performing at the age of six with her parents’ band “The Electrocarpathians”. She studied dance at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts during elementary and high school. She grew up in the flamenco community of San Diego, where her passionate artistic character began to form. After performing as a flamenco dancer in California and studying classical dance at the University of California Santa Barbara, Lakshmi travelled to Spain at the age of 20 to complete her flamenco studies. She was fortunate to be quickly embraced by artists and find work in tablaos and flamenco private events alongside great artists such as La Toná, La Familia Amaya, Pepe Torres, Joselito Méndez, Antonio Moya, La Tana, Carmen Ledesma, Antonio Rey and Manuel Molina. She was nicknamed La Chimi, which is simply her own name repronounced.