Dance on, Sandip Soparrkar

Sandip Soparrkar, well-known choreographer, actor and columnist, who holds a doctorate in World Mythology and Folklore from the United States, is adding another feather to his dancing cap. He has been busy learning Tanoura, a whirling, spiritual Sufi dance form in Egypt for the last three weeks. “I have already finished two levels and this is the third level that I have come here to complete. While whirling for the first time, I witnessed a divine light. I felt blank for a few moments as if to say I was surrendering to a divine feeling. I felt as if I was in another world altogether.

But, he does not see the light always.  “I have been whirling for some time and during the very first time I felt the closeness of this yellow divine light. But, when I tried whirling on another day, I felt nothing despite spinning for quite a while.”

Will Sandip make Tanoura a part of his teaching repertoire? “I would not like to teach this dance form to my students until I have learned it thoroughly myself. I still need to practise and follow this dance form. Until I have fully mastered the form, I will not give away anything half-baked to my students.”

Does he miss not having a partner in his life, since parting with wife Jesse Randhawa, Sandip says, “Since separating from Jesse, I have decided to concentrate only on my dance. It’s not once bitten and twice shy, for me it’s a hundred times shy. I am happy that I am enjoying my single status learning different dance forms that keep me happy.”

He adds, “No woman can be No. 1 for me. I travel around the world to learn dance. All this keeps me so busy that I am left with no time even for myself. At this stage of my life, I would not like my passion i.e. dance to be anything other than No. 1 for me.”

Doesn’t he feel like slowing down, having hit forty some time ago? “Being forty plus I have become practical in life. I have decided to concentrate on where my heart lies.”

“Having said that, I do not deny that I regularly have sex .It is a biological need and an inspiration for me to dance. I may have got emotional with those women a few times, but again I think about my practical goals. I am passionate about dance. So, I strictly refuse to get into any relationship. My priorities have changed now,” he says.

He is quick to clarify that his relationships are all consensual and have had nothing to do with his work. “My sexual relationships have had nothing to do with the casting couch. These are purely with consent,” he says.

Sandip is currently working on films as well.  One is Screwdriver in which he portrays an item boy, and the other is Cyclone, which is based on fun dance numbers. Apart from this, he has been rigorously working on the issue of drug abuse as well, for which he received the National Excellence Award in 2015 for contribution to society.