Bharatanatyam performance at India Dance Week. (Photo: Taher Basrai )
International Dance Day, which was celebrated on April 29, is a special day for all dancers, and dance enthusiasts where each and everyone who loves the art comes out and celebrates their involvement in it. Be it kids, youngsters or seniors or be it thin, fat, tall, stout, rich or poor people, dance does not see the background or community of a dancer. Dance only sees dance.
Keeping in mind that dancers have the same heart, I launched India Dance Week three years ago. I feel humbled to inform you that this festival is the only one in India were Indian classical, Indian folk, international folk, ballet, ballroom, Latin dances, hip hop, contemporary, jazz, Bollywood and many other dance forms came together on a single platform.
India Dance Week has been hosted by Phoenix Market City Kurla in Mumbai. The first event was launched by legendary Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan while my dear friend Raveena Tandon inaugurated the second one and youth sensation Tiger Shroff gave away the grand prize to the winner.
This year was no less spectacular, for Bollywood dancing king Govinda made an appearance to light the inaugural lamp and shook a leg to his hit number A Aa E Ee O O O Mera Dil Na Todo from his super hit film Raja Babu. When he danced the crowd could not stop cheering for him and his iconic moves. The king of latkas and jhatkas declared India Dance Week open and what followed were series of dances from various parts of India and the world.
Uma Rele’s Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya presented story of Panchmahabhuta with a beautiful blend of Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam and Kathak. There was a performance by Muskaan Kapadia of India’s Got Talent fame doing the Malkham. Dancers performed Bihu from Assam, the Marathi Legium dance, Kajari from Uttar Pradesh and Bhangra from Punjab. Then there were Villoo Bharucha’s School of Ballet showcasing not just the Russian style of the dance but also the French style with ‘Esmeralda’ and ‘Pas-de-Trois’ from Paquita respectively. Brian Fernandes’ Dance Academy presented rock n roll, jazz funk, B-boying and Broadway performances.
There were also demonstration of few popular Latin and ballroom dances: The English waltz, Cuban rumba, salsa, Argentinean tango, cha cha cha and jive. The best part of the evening was the international folk dances that were performed by world-renowned Japanese dancer Ryoko De. The artist and her team performed the famous Japanese dance Nichibu, the Chinese long sleeve dance and the Tibetan cham dance.
Day two saw dancers from all over India compete for prizes. Out of 600 applications, 16 contestants were chosen and they all danced with zeal and vigour to win the trophy. There were 11 dynamic and super accomplished judges who not only danced to their hit songs themselves but also gave tips and advice to the contestants.
The jury of India Dance Week Year 3 comprised the original Paree of India, Suneeta Rao; the Aashiqui man Rahul Roy; Jayati Bhatia, the famous Mata ji from hit serial Sasural Simar Ka; Balika Vadhu Avika Gor; funny man Gaurav Gera; the heartthrob of Indian television Eijaz Khan; Gen Next star Aashima Sharma; National Award-winning director Smita Bharti; theatre actor, producer and director Vandana Sajnani; Ryoko De and item girl Sanober Kabir.
The winners were Bharatanatyam dancers Vaidehi Rele and Trusha Panchal from Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya followed by Rajasthani Kalbeliya group dancers and Mohiniyattam dancer Radhika Nair respectively. The special kids from Little Angel School in Delhi won the special recognition award and the English waltz dance by a couple in their mid 60’s — Kamlesh Rajore and Sushma Nair — bagged the most inspirational dance prize. In our country there are various Indian classical dance, folk dance and salsa festivals and festivals dedicated to modern and contemporary dances but ‘India Dance Week’ is one celebration of dance where the motto is not to divide dancers as per the forms they practise but to unite them as well as their hearts. Because a dancer is a dancer — It does not matter what dance he or she performs.
Sandip Soparrkar can be contacted on sandipsoparrkar06@gmail.com
