Superb dance and music show

I recently attended a show entitled Dance Mania 6 , held at The Beck Theatre in Hayes, Middlesex, and I was so enthralled and uplifted by the performances that I wish to share my experience with all who love music and dance, especially of the Indian variety.

The show was the brainchild of a talented lady-producer by the name of Rakhi Sood Purohit, who has a dance school of her own and has worked in the arts and dance spheres in the local community for over 30 years. Rakhi has worked with schools and arts organisations throughout the south of England and Dance Mania 6 was the latest of her many shows staged over the years.

The host (compere) of this show was a doctor by profession named Jay Dave with an uncanny form of wit and humour. He certainly did a fantastic job of introducing all the 20 acts that evening. The opening act was an acrobatic display of dance movements by a young man who came all the way from Baroda, India to perform.

We were then treated to a hugely talented group of young female dancers called TMC Dancers who performed very intricate Bollywood and Kathak dance movements to the accompaniment of the vocal refrains of Rakhi and her husband Mitel who displayed his special skills on the tablas. Thereafter we were filled with admiration and joy at the sheer artistry and movements of all the dancers from various dance schools like HFC Sundays, CAB Twinkles, ArtAsia, ICAB Groovers, ArtAsia Bollywood Advance, among many other groups. Evidently all the dancers concerned were either former or present students of the Rakhi School of Dance.

All through the show one could not fail to have been impressed by the wonderful choreography and impressive dance movements of all the dancers, young and old. I was completely taken aback by the special movements of the eyes, fingers, hands and feet of each dancer, in harmony with each other, and to the pulsating, throbbing beat of the specially-chosen soundtracks.

Even more impressive were the colourful, shimmering, gleaming costumes, which apparently were obtained all the way from Mumbai. I shudder to think of the cost involved in this regard.

It was quite evident that such marvellous talent showcased that evening could only have been made possible by hours of practice, coaching, rehearsals, etc.

Whilst one has to give credit and commend Rakhi for being the main coach,tutor and choreographer, she was no doubt aided by an equallytalented team of helpers, be they her core group of dancers or her important advisors, costume designers, photographers and backstage assistants.

A special mention has to be made for the most informative proOH grammes compiled for this show by Aman Kharay and Priya Tailor. Most shows nowadays make some charge for such programmes but the Dance Mania 6 show dished out programmes to all the attendees free of charge.

Talk of attendees, it seems that many of those present were indeed family and friends of the performers themselves. This has to be testimony of the true and loyal type of support and encouragement that all who endeavour to perform onstage need and require at such times.

The success of any theatre production at any venue is largely dependent on the in-house facilities provided by the theatre itself. Becks Theatre certainly had all that was required for this event, including stage lighting, sound and acoustics, not to mention polite and helpful ushers.

In conclusion, I have to state that although I did not quite understand the language and lyrics of the various soundtracks, I was thoroughly entertained by the sights and sounds of the performers on stage as I just happen to love music and dance of any description.

My heartiest congratulations to all concerned for such a superb show and I wish Rakhi and her team all the very best of success for the future!! Lambert Pereira Heston, Middlesex