Celebrating the pure forms of dance

Mumbai is known world over for Bollywood. This city is said to be the birth place of all the latkas and jhatkas. Delhi, Chennai, Calcutta, Bangalore and other cities of India are called more traditional and culturally rich as compared to Mumbai, which was always a modern child in comparison to its other sister cities. As a dancer and a choreographer, I would say that this tag is slowly changing. Mumbai was and will always be the Mecca of Bollywood moves, but there are a group of few culturally rich people who are encouraging and supporting pure dance forms.

Normally a Valentine’s day in Mumbai would be celebrated with lots of old and new Bollywood love songs and couples dancing to it in the typical filmy style, but this year Mumbai saw an event like never before and I am honoured to have been the face of ‘Dance Dream Believe.’ It was a one-of-its-kind dance competition that only allowed entry to couples who could perform pure dance forms. From Ballroom to Bharatnatayam, from Tamil Nadu folk to Latin folk, from hip-hop dance to acrobatic dance, ballet to Bollywood, were on display as long as it was in their purest form. Even the music had to be authentic and unadulterated, and these strict rules were a pleasurable change from regular competitions today.

Lavni dance expert, Hindi and Marathi film actress Varsha Usgaonkar, Bharatnatayam dancer and Bollywood item girl Meghna Naidu, gold medallist at the All India Ballroom Championship and television actor Nakuul Mehta, along with Kathak dancer and actress Aashima Sharma judged this grand event. The show was hosted by the dynamic, contemporary dancer and actor Raj Kumar Singh and Bollywood actor Shamita Shetty was the chief guest at the event.

The best part about the show was its superbly talented dancers. Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya students performed lesser-known Tamil Nadu folk dance Kavadee and got the evening rolling, followed by Viloo Barucha School of Ballet dancers dancing the French style of the Russian Ballet. There was a beautiful couple in their 60s who danced the English Waltz so gracefully and elegantly that the crowd cheered for them. Then there were contemporary acrobatic dancers too. Terrence Lewis’ Dance School students mesmerised one and all with their clean body lines, flexibility and strength. Sudeesh Dance Crew dancers performed typical Bollywood moves of Govinda and Mithun, followed by a mesmerising story of Ardhanarishwar presented so aptly that the 4,000-odd audience members at the mall where it was performed gave them a standing ovation. When Indian and world dances come together, how can the Latino be far away The event also had Salsa from Cuba and the Bachata from Dominican Republic.

Finally, when the results were announced and the prizes were being given away, the public demanded that the winner perform again. The contestants were more than happy to oblige.

The most inspirational couple prize was won by Kamlesh Rajore and Sushma Nair for dancing the traditional English Waltz effortlessly. The second runner-up was won by Muskaan Kapadia and Chirag Hargunani for their acrobatic dance which showcased their immense flexibility and body strength. The first runners-up trophy was taken by ballet dancers Omkar Gotad and Parinaaz Guard who showed the audience what real technical dance is all about. The judges declared Abijith Nair and Radhika Rangparia as the winners for their refined and perfect Bharatnatayam moves which told the age-old story of Shiva and Shakti’s oneness.

I personally feel that in India we have divided the dances grading them as Indian classical, folk, western, highly technical, less technical, martial, ritual, etc. Dividing the dances is fine for knowledge and understanding, but dividing the dancers based on that is unfair. ‘Dance Dream Believe’ brought all dancers together. Watching an Indian classical dancer standing along with a ballet dancer and a contemporary dancer shaking hands and congratulating a ballroom dancer was delightful. This show simply proved that Mumbai and its dance lovers have a spirit of absorbing all that is offered to them with respect and love. I wish more events like these bring all dancers and dances together on a single platform, because we must not forget that it is love for dance that unities dancers together.

Sandip Soparrkar is a ballroom and Latin dancer and a choreographer. He can be contacted on sandipsoparrkar06@gmail.com