We know, we can dance
There’s more to dance than just gravity-defying lifts and cartwheels. Technique matters.
Abhishek has become the nation’s newest poster boy for dance ever since he demonstrated the ‘finger dance’ in the first episode of India’s Dancing Superstars.
S. Pavitra, who teaches contemporary dance at ABC Monster at Alwal, tells us, “I saw three boys doing it at a workshop recently. They copied it from the promos itself. It’s just a matter of these techniques appearing on television and everyone falls for them.”
She couldn’t be closer to the truth. With dance reality shows on TV having piqued the interest of dance enthusiasts, the queues at dance schools are just getting longer.
While some want to lock and pop a la Prince of Dance India Dance, others strive for Crocroaz’s slow-motion and Salman’s contemporary steps. Then there are others who wish to emulate the lifts, splits, cartwheels, and leap of faiths of the celebrities on Jhalak Dikhalaja and Nach Baliye.
Yes, their expectations are very high, say the trainers, adding “But they’re warming up to the reality. It’s hard work, they know now.”
Also, the lines are very clear. While they are well-aware about jazz, funk, rumba, ballroom, jive and others (thanks to ‘Google chacha’ Terence Lewis), salsa, hip-hop and contemporary is what drives them on the floors.
It’s been six months since Abhinav Singh of St Mary’s College joined the Sync One dance class in Madhapur but he hasn’t gotten any closer to gravity-defying moves. “The stuff shown on TV is not pure dance. It’s a mix of Bollywood and salsa. We viewers just get carried away. I realised that I need to learn the basics first. I am thankful that my mentor Sashaank is not deviating from the basics,” he says. Meanwhile, the B. Tech student has become confident enough to ask girls for a dance at salsa socials.
Unlike Abhinav, boys generally prefer the cooler street dance — hiphop. Yes, So You Think Can Dance, Step Up and Any Body Can Dance have certainly fired up their imaginations.
Rohit Pothani of Spoorthy College of Engineering has come a long way from breaking his back and hurting his knees trying to learn hiphop from YouTube. Now, he offers advice, “Seriously guys, don’t do it at home. It can be dangerous. One must first learn the techniques of hip-hop formally.” Ditto when it comes to contemporary dance. You can end up with a broken back if done out of fun. College student Sravani S. agrees, “Contemporary dance is essentially about expression but has a lot of techniques like pointing your hands and legs involved. We need to really get it right. ”
While self-taught dance can be risky, 15-year-old P. Deepali Naidu is an exception. She instinctually chose belly dancing in Class V. Due to dearth of belly dance instructors in the city, she is now learning salsa and bachata at EchoIndia at Neredmet under Sanjay MJ Kumar and is planning to become an instructor herself. The student, who just wrote her Class X exams, has another wish too, “I wish to combine popping and belly dancing into a new technique.”