A CHAT WITH ‘KALA CHASHMA GIRL’
How did your dance journey begin?
I was dancing at family parties since I was six. At 12, I choreographed my performance on the then popular Bollywood song, Kajra Re. That year, I travelled to Mumbai for the finals of Boogie Woogie, (a popular Indian dance reality show), participated in shows, choreographed for school events, and since then, there’s been no looking back.
You gave up a regular 9 to 5 job to pursue dance. What prompted you to do this and what’s the feedback?
I realised that I couldn’t sit in the same spot for eight hours. I would get restless, secretly watch new dance videos on YouTube, and mentally choreograph popular tracks. However, by the time I was home, I was too tired to execute it. That was when I decided to take up dance as a full-time career. The response has been phenomenal so far! My YouTube family is now 50K strong and celebrities share my dance videos — all this in a year; it couldn’t have been better.
How do you use social media to further your career?
The first official video I posted on my channel was on the song Kala Chashma. The video hit 2.9 million views, and I was associated with the song everywhere I went. For instance, people from other countries were messaging in and telling me that they danced on the song for a wedding. I owe my dance identity to the song and so I decided to call myself ‘Kala Chashma Girl’ in order to connect better with my audience. Now that I have established my audience, I’ve changed my social media identity to @ nidhikumardance so that people know me for all my work and not just one performance.
How challenging is it to generate viral content?
Creating viral content is not easy; a lot of research is required. I definitely need to be up to date with new songs. I also ensure that I release a video within the week of release.
What is the final goal here?
My aim is to keep growing in the field of dance, establish my own academy in Dubai, and then, expand worldwide. I currently conduct occasional workshops and private lessons for some aspiring dancers. Eventually, I’d like to choreograph songs for Bollywood. My motto is simple: You can’t be happy for the rest of your life doing what you don’t love.
I connect with my followers through social media. I know their likes and dislikes, and that allows me to give them exactly what they want; that’s how they keep coming back for more. Nidhi Kumar professional dancer & YouTuber