Zindagi Na Milegi DOBARA...

ZOYA AKHTAR, her movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara which literally translates to 'You only get to LIVE Once', has inspired a lot of people to take exotic foreign vaccations (wink) and make some life altering decisions (the classic one being Abhay Deol urf Kabir deciding to not marry his Love). Jokes apart, in our quest to achieve zenith (more than often its monetary gains) we overlook the nuances of LIFE that bring us sheer joy, happiness and most important 'Satisfaction'. Seldom can we strike a balance between 'Responsibility/ Goals' and 'Happiness'.

Fortunately, Financial Guru (dad) has (courageously) given me the wings to take the Leap Of Faith. Along with a corporate career i have the privilege to pursue my one true LOVE dance 'Taal pe Tanz-TT'. This brings me to describe my next performance, a Bollywood/ Bharatnatyam collaboration. Interestingly, i have always seen people love Kathak a lot more the Bharatnatyam. Ask me the reason why? (strictly my opinion) its primarily because of the ostentatious Kathak Twirls (wink).

A wise man once said 'Always play to your Strengths'. Clearly my strength being the 'dance from the south' i chose to explore it further by giving it a Bollywood touch.

A.R.Rehman the messiah of music has the power to transcend you to tranquility. Apart from the many favorites, one song that instantly struck a chord with me was 'Man Mohini' from the movie Yuvvraj (Sallu Bhai ki picture BOSS). Not a stand out from the album but definitely a beautiful piece to dance my story on.

Indian Classical dance is heavily inspired from our scriptures. Some of the worldly celebrated stories are those of Lord Krishna (Nand ke Laal) teasing Radha and the Gopis. Naturally, this is crux of my dance story for this song. A beautiful friendship woven with the beads of LOVE- Man Mohini Morey Man Bhave.... (video out soon)

Before i sign off, in a very Bollywood style to the world out there 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, toh yehi Umar Hai Karle tu Galti se Mistake...' Take the Leap of Faith.

The KINGHT of KATHAK....

Once upon a time, a simpleton from the lands of EPICS (India) traveled seven shores to the lands of Vodka (oops) (Russia) and caused a storm. The simpleton, loved for his grace and talent in his homeland, partnered with an ice princess (Indian origin Russian) to create magic. Together they danced to the tunes of LOVE ‘Jag Ghumiya Thare Jaisa Na Koi’ (a beautiful Kathak performance on Russia’s got talent) and the rest is History.

Mohe pangat pe Naand Laal Ched Gayo RE!!!

I chose to be a part of this fairy tale. Fortunately, the simpleton belongs to my homeland and is one of the few torchbearers of the Indian classical dance style ‘Kathak’. Kathak a name derived from the word ‘Katha’ (story) is an art of storytelling through a dance recital. This dance form is majorly famous for its intricate foot movements and the larger than life turns/swivels.

Kumar Sharma, the simpleton, is an aficionado in his Dance style. A disciple of Late Shri Sita Ram Ji of Jaipur Gharana, Kumar, has pursued music and dance for over a decade, Not many are aware, Kumar is a professional singer himself. He has actually sung the kathak taals' in our final song edit.

Kumar’s professional accomplishments are huge with him being a regular in the reality TV dance segment. From Dance India Dance to India's got talent, you name it and he's been there, done that. He has also choreographed for grand music concerts (A.R.Rehman live Music Concert). 

Knight of Kathak- the honor does suit him, doesn’t it…(wink)

Julliard a world-renowned School of performing arts has an interesting concept of partnering as a part of their Dance credits. What is partnering? Is it two people dancing together or probably a group of people forming a unison and performing an ACT? Interestingly, it is blending two different dance styles into one.

My forte is Bharatanatyam. For many years, I have been toying with the idea to blend these two dramatically different dance styles into one. Kumar was game for the idea (thankfully).

I coined the term “TAAL se TAAL MILA...” for our beautiful rendezvous (dance piece).

Fun times while Partnering (wink).

One memorable dance performance of yours: Of course 'Russia's Got Talent' with Svetlana.

Favorite dancer: Mrs Vidha Lal

Is the Knight in search of his Princess: YES (all the single ladies, put your hands up-lol)

Favorite dance style apart from Katahk: Bollywood

Kumar the singer or Kumar the Dancer: A dancer who wants to dance on his Songs (hai mein mar jawan ;-)

I hope to see him perform on grander scales and achieve great success. My prophecy we get to see him in Dance+ season 3 (fingers crossed).

TAAL pe TANZ...

His EYES can SEE the BEYOND!!!

JORDAN MATTER

Financial Guru’s (Dad) quest to make me good at multiple things has often led me to taste the waters of different lands. Fortunately, I chose to master two things thoroughly viz, Dance and Finance. However, one of the art forms that was on Financial Guru’s wish list was Photography. And, while I have not explored this art more, it is very intriguing.

There is an age old saying ‘Beauty lies in the eyes of the Beholder’. Yet there a few blessed souls who have an eye to capture beauty. Truth be told only an insightful entity could possibly tell a story through lenses (Camera). Dance being my forte and not photography, I decided to blend the 2 and write about dance photography (interesting).

In the age of smart phones, we all are masters of the art of “self-clicking” Selfie (lol). But capturing an object in motion requires the Midas touch. One of the very famous names, in the world of Dance Photography, that I came across was Jordan Matter. Thanks to technology we could connect on a Skype call and I had the opportunity to know his journey.

Jordan (I love the name) has been in the profession of Photography for over 15 years. Born to a set of talented parents, his father- Alex Matter an established director and his mother- Paula Feiten was a model, being a cameras baby came naturally to him. Also to mention he probably got his craft right from his grandfather, Herbert Matter, was a renowned photographer.

3 IDIOTS (wink)

He says, professional photography happened to him by chance. He was a baseball player in his formative years (somehow, I have always confused baseball as being the American version of Cricket (wink)). He then went on to pursue acting. Just imagine a person used to being in the Lime Light later chooses to be behind the arc light- I call that Nirvana.

FLY AWAY!!!

Excerpts from the interview...

What inspired you to take up Dance Photography?

My choices, an athlete and an actor later, have always lured me towards the unpredictable. Photography as an art is very unpredictable. You never know what is going to happen. I started off as just helping my friend with her modelling photo shoot. I was so hooked to the art that I made a career out of it (laughs). I went on to work with Tyra Banks, the Today show, and many other broadcast networks. I later transcended to Dance Photography. Again the mercurial movements of a dancer attract me to capture their art.

BALLET

A dance style you love to capture…

It’s easier to capture Ballet and Gymnastics as opposed to other dance forms like Tap or Ballroom. (In my New York diaries I will make sure I have “A day in Jordan’s life” story and make him capture my dance style Indian Classical-wink)

Your favourite dancer…

It might come as a surprise but I am not a dance enthusiasts. I just the telling the stories of dancers through my pictures.

Tell us more about your latest project “Tiny Dancers Among Us”.

A few years ago, I did a book titled “Dancers Among Us”. This book is a follow up to the series showcasing the creativity of kids in terms to their day to day chores like doing their homework, or playing in the park or simply travelling through dance in a humorous and fun way. Interestingly my daughter was the inspiration behind this project. On a particularly snowy day my daughter was not in her best moods, we had to go out and we had to shovel the snow outside my house. She came out and started doing just the same, I went back inside got my camera and clicked a few shots of her. That’s how “Tiny Dancers” happened.

TINY DANCERS AMONG US...

The Dancers/ Dance Company’s you love to work with…

I do have some favouites they being: Michaela DePrince (a Ballerina and the author of the book – Taking Flight- From war orphan to Star Ballerina), Paul Taylor and Alvin Ailey Dance Company (modern dance company based in New York).

A Dancestastic Party!!!

Well we wish Jordan humongous success for his upcoming book “Tiny Dancers Among Us” and hopefully I get to see him in the near future.

The Minority Men...

The SONI Brothers

Saturday night shenanigans with my danstastic FamJam (we are a bunch of dance enthusiasts’) introduced me to the dancer duo ‘SONI Brothers’. Interestingly I have danced with their group in my annual Falguni (garba) nights but never really enquired about their identities. Garba being one of the most celebrated Gujarati dance forms, Rajmata(mom) at her nostalgic best tagged alongside to relive her dancing days. She was a fine garba dancer in her prime.

The perks of being a dancer and a gujju are that you are a natural for this dance art. Along with music and the dance steps (hands and feet) it is the well-coordinated voracious hand claps that beautify the ethnicity of this form.

Garba is a gregarious and exuberant dance form, hence I chose to redefine it as the GUJJU ZUMBA. And for my Zumba session I chose the company of the very energetic ‘Soni Brothers’.

The Gujju ZUMBA

Jigar Soni and Suhrad Soni famously known as the Soni Brothers are the ‘Heart & Soul’ of SSGD (Soni's School of Garba). Interestingly, the two are working professionals, Jigar is an esteemed professional at Deccan Charters (he literally sells helicopters for a living (woah) how cool is that???) while the younger lad is the Tech Man working at a multinational IT firm. So when I met them the first question I asked was “how do you manage your dance school along with work” and the modest response was “It’s our PASSION.”

The signature DOUBLE JUMP

From winning the National level awards for FOLK Dance to representing India at the international stage (workshops and shows in UK, UAE, Switzerland, USA and a strong future lineup) the Ram-Lakhan Jodi has come a long way. Their recent works include choregraphing a Gujarati dance song ‘Mari Madi No Garbo’ for the movie ‘Mad For each Other’. They are also the first duo to provide a lecture on Garba at the 49th World Congress on Dance Research held in Mumbai.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14cJjTCXC9U

When I entered their class the vibe (Vatavaran-lol) was enticing. The handsome duo dressed in Kurta Payjama was a fresh aberration from the usual tracks and t-shirt look at other dance centres. My Garba/Zumba session was worth every minute and I would recommend all of you’ll to try one soon.

Its time for some ‘BRO Code’(wink) fun….

Spoiler Alert (Jigar is the Jolly good man and Suhrad has his Swagger)

Favourite Garba Song: 

JS:  It is too difficult to pick one, as I think that the Dhol plays such a important role in all Garba songs that it makes you tempted whenever you hear it.

SS: Too difficult to pin down one song but Ghor Andhari re (especially when Falguni Pathak sings it live) does give me goose bums :) 

Choose one between RAAS/GARBA: 

JS: I simply love both. No Googlies please (wink)  

SS: Love both Raas and Garba but if asked to choose one then would say that I Love performing Raas a bit more than Garba (SWAG).

One peculiar habit that you hate about each other:

JS: Well well, He at times tends to get a bit serious in handling certain issues where I try to laugh it out on all hurdles coming my way.   

SS: I can be bad at times to ensure Good Governance and discipline is maintained in the school whereas he tends to be a bit lineant (that's his nature :))that sometimes gets me frustrated.

If given a choice which Bollywood Celebrity would you like to teach Garba to:

JS: It would be Shahid Kapoor, I think he is a complete dancer who can do justice to all forms and maybe Priyanka Chopra. Both the names I have given I believe are really good dancers but have still not got their true worth as a dancer.  

                                      

Mansi: (#Padmatvati could have a Rajasthani/Gujju flavoured dance number)  

    

Taal pe Tanz

SS: I wish to teach Garba to Govinda Ji and Madhuri Dixit as I feel they both can do maximum Justice to this Beautiful Folk dance

19 years back their journey began with 5 students and today they boast of 1500 students (Mumbai) training under their tutelage. They have made Authentic Garba, a minority dance form, their style statement.

The Minority Men are indeed on a mission to take Garba Global.   

  

PS: the dance video will be up soon.......                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Rang Barse....HOLI HAI!!!

"Holi kab hai? Kab hai holi?" one of the many famous dialogues from the epic, SHOLAY (kudos to Amjad Khan), is probably the turning point in the movie when good wins over the evil. Holi, a festival of LOVE, a festival of HOPE (victory of good over bad), is one the most colourful event of the year. Traditionally played with Gulaal (Red colour- signifies Love & triumph), the festival also highlights the natkhat (notorious) ways of Lord Krishna teasing the Gopi's and his soulmate Radha and playfully dancing to the tune of LOVE.

Over the years, Bollywood has given us some amazing dance numbers that beautify the grandiose of Holi. From 'Jaa re Hat Natkhat' (Navrang) to 'Rang Barse Bheege chunarwali Rang Barse' (Silsila) to 'Soni Soni ankhiyon wali' (Mohobatein) to the most youthful song of Y2K generation 'Balam Pichkari' (Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani) Hindi cinema's love for colours is glorifying.

HOLI HAI!!!

The one song that changed the very core of choreography in the movies is 'Jaa re Hat Natkhat' from the movie ;Navrang'. Set in the era of 1950-60's, when technology was a-skewed, we found a masterpiece with this movie. In a classic Broadway style the song shines because of the unique choreography of Shyam Kumar, melodious music by C. Ramchandra, and the excellent manifestation by Actress Sandhya.

NAVRANG

In 1940-60's bollywood dancing was strongly divided into classical (Kathak, Bharatnatyam) and western (ballroom: Jive, Walts) dance art.

I could not find much about the maestro Shyam Kumar (Choreographer) on the net so i chose to decode his brilliance myself. Two songs that stood out strongly from the album, both visual and audio, were 'Aadha hai Chandrama, Raat Aadhi' & 'Arey Jaa re Hat Natkhat'.

The balancing of a mountain of pots (8 pots precisely) in 'Aadha hai Chandrama' and the male mannequin attached to actress Sandhya's back (she performs the role play of both the man and the woman) in 'Jaa re Hat Natkhat' went on to pave the way for novelty and experimentation in songs.

In the Holi song 'Jaa re..' poet Diwakar (male lead- Mahendra Kapoor) transcends into his imaginery world, where his lover Mohini (female lead- Sandhya) appears playing holi with him, their union is then graced by the presence of Lord Ganesh in the form of an elephant. The iconic element is when 'Mohini' embodies the male part dancing on her back on the incremental tempo of the song. CREATIVE GENIUS....check out the link below.

Jaa re Hat Natkhat...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnayLSAKHIM

 Over the years this song has inspired me and many others while competing in dance competitions. Probably the only song wherein every rendition, the classic 'Male embodiment' attached to the back of the dancer is unchanged.

For now Happy Holi from Taal pe Tanz, Be Safe Be Cool...
Over and Out!!

 

  





  

Humma Humma : Belly+Bollywood Dance.

Leyla O Leyla...

Rajmata (mom), her obsession for novelty on the 'Idiot Box' (T.V.) introduced Financial Guru(dad) and I to Zindagi channel. The channel is known for showcasing programs from Turkey, Ukraine, South Korea and more (the aforesaid are dubbed in Hindi). Currently the flavor of the season is 'Kuzey-Guney' a Turkish serial based on the life of two borthers. A naive confession, i have a teenage crush on KUZEY....

In the midst of the sand dunes (Dubai) and my new found love 'Belly Dance' i met this beautiful dance artist Leyla. The one thing that i love about her apart form her dance art is : She's Turkish (wink).

Belly Dance also known as 'Raqs Sharqi' is a folk dance from the Middle East. As the name suggests it is a dance form that lays emphasis on the strong movements of the hips and torso. The interesting fact about Belly Dance is, every body movement is sharp and crisp. The staccatos are inherent.

There is a famous bhojpuri song that goes something like this "Kamariya Hille Lopa Lope" -the belly moves to the tunes (LOLSSS).

Since i was in Dubai i thought of exploring this Dance form a little, that's how i came across Leyla.

Leyla O Leyla: Leyla (Ahu Oazkaran), a beautiful mother of two, is a Turkish Dance artist trained in Ballet, Music (vocal and piano) and folk forms. She holds her Bachelors (BFA- Music) and Masters (MFA- Dance) from the reputed Trinity School and Royal Academy of Dance. She worked extensively with dance companies in Dubai and now is a proud owner/director of Cello Music and Ballet Center and Expressions and Dance and Drama with many locations in UAE.

The Academy

My curiosity got me to understand that Belly Dance has evolved across times and traditions. Hence the folk form encapsulates different regions (Egypt, Turkey, Middle East, etc) and adds flavors accordingly. 

Its Class Time!!!

The Turkish beauty gave me the opportunity to spend time at her dance school and cover her story. 

The belly dance belts

The advantage of belly dance is the accessories (the belly dance attire/belt) also know as Bedlah in Arabic  you get to wear while dancing. If i am suppose to define this dance form, i would phrase it as 'Hotness Personified'.

While dancing i drew a lot of similarities with Samba. Coincidentally both the dance forms have sassy dance movements and most importantly are fun to watch. 

Leyla is not a huge fan of Bollywood music. But, i guess i managed to impress her enough to 'Shake the Booty' on the recent chartbuster 'HUMMA HUMMA' song (subscribe to our you tube channel Taal pe Tanz).

All in all it was great fun to cover a folk form of the Desserts and we will bring you more artists on the same soon...Till then...'Leyla o Leyla, kaisee tu leyla, har koi chahe tujhse milna akela' (an old bollywood song describing a beautiful girl)

Leyla O Leyla