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

Bollywood Ke Badshaaahhhh...

My favorite KJO Step (wink)

Mini vacations are superfun when you get to do what you love the most. On my way to the most well defined MANMADE city Dubai, i chose the company of Mr.Unsuitable Boy- Karan Johar (an autobiography of sorts). You can love him, you can hate him but you can't ignore him(wink). I have only reached half way yet so no conjectures (oops) from my side.

Dipped in Bollywood from head to toe one of the most revered director of our times KJO' or as Kangana Ranaut would want to describe him in her biopic 'The Movie Mafia' (courtesy Koffee with Karan) his taste and finesse is unparalleled. Apart from his journey in the industry the one part which i loved the most was his love for Dancing (SriDevi hit songs). Dubai is one place that loves Bollywood. A lot of the clubs choose Bollywood nights to party. So i chose to write about my favorite Dance style 'Bollywood Dance'.



A Bollywood buff that i am, i have yet not come to a conclusion when it comes to the age old war of SriDevi v/s Madhrui Dixit. How can one pick between Mere Haathoon mean Nau Nau Chudiyan and Chane ke khet mein? (trust me its a tough one). One thing which i love about quintessential Bollywood Dancing is that it can be performed anywhere, anytime and anyhow...

From Shammi Kapoor to Govinda to Hritik to Ranbir the latakas, the jhatkas and the thumkas (its the bollywood lingo) have evolved over the years but the essence its still the same. The latest chart buster 'Tamma Tamma' from Badrinath Ki Dulhaniyan (revamping the old bollywood songs-the current trend) cannot be compared to the old version at all. Is the dancing better? its superlative... but one can't match up to the broody non dancing ways (wink) of Sanju Baba (Sanjay Dutt).

Can you guess its BABA!!

All what i am trying to say is you don't need to be professionally trained to dance on bollywood songs. Just groove to the music and you are sorted. For inspiration my favorite impersonation is of Salman Khan as Chulbul Pandey from (Dabangg)


Tu Premi Aha, Mein Premi Aha...Tu Razzi Aha, Mein Razzi Aha....
Phir kya Daddy Kya Amma....
Tamma Tamma LOGE....

Something interesting in store from my Dubai Diaries coming soon!!! but for now its SAYONARAAA...

City of STARS... with the Moonlight...

The GOLDEN MAN.

#89^th Oscars was a starry night…

For many years, I have followed a ritual of sorts: my OSCAR movie week begins after the event (ceremony) happens. I surely do have a busy week ahead (wink). This year however I made an exception with the musical LA LA LAND.

Priyanka Chopra convincingly said on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, she’s glad that La La Land was received warmly in the U.S. To her, it has, in a way, paved the way for Hollywood enthusiasts to comprehend the narrative style of traditional Bollywood films. “Otherwise Bollywood is just considered a Zumba class around the world,” I agree.

Damien Chazelle, Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling (cute & hot: wink) and every member of the film have recreated magic. Set in contemporary Hollywood it is definitely Bollywood at heart with the larger than life locations/sets, and the most important element of Hindi cinema music and dance.

City of Stars!!!

My knowledge is limited, when it comes to JAZZ music and dance. Having said that my personal favourite piece is the Lovely Night Dance in the movie. The woman behind this classic performance is Samantha Jo “Mandy” Moore. Many confused her with the actress Mandy Moore at the Golden Globe last year. So let’s just say will the real Mandy Moore please stand up!!! (wink).

The real Mandy Moore...

Jazz, a conglomerate of a few dance styles viz: Tap dance, Swing, Lindy Hop and Jitterbug, is often regarded as an Umbrella.

The best part about Jazz is that it can be danced to different types of music, since it does not have a language of its own. Over the years Jazz dance has evolved with contemporary dance artists adding their own flavour to it, mainly isolations, slow and fast tempo, energy variations and more.

With LA LA LAND being the flavour of the season I am very keen to learn JAZZ dance soon. Hopefully we at TT (Taal pe Tanz) will bring to you a JAZZ video in the near future (fingers crossed)

Coming back to the Oscars, the epic mix up with the best picture award (Moonlight) at the ceremony did give us two amazing speeches at the Finale. Honest mistakes are always welcome (wink).

To sum it all up it was : City of STARS…with the Moonlight…

HAR HAR MAHADEV.

            

 “Wahi SHUNYA hai, Wahi EKAAY,

Jiske bheetar Basa           SHIVAAY…”

This wonderful song from the movie SHIVAAY resonates the beauty, power, faith and life of Mahadev. 

My dance guru always taught me to feel every emotion while performing. He would often tell me “Immerse yourself in the music and surrender to the Universe (Natraja), that’s when you will be a soulful dancer”

‘Mahashivratri’ – scriptures say today (night) Lord Shiva and Maa Pravati  entered the beautiful phase of togetherness: Marriage. There is also a belief that on this night Lord Shiva performed the dance of creation, preservation and dissolution 'Tandava'.

Tandava or Tandavam is a divine dance performed by Natraja (Lord Shiva) that depicts his inner soul. This piece is usually synonymous to anger or destruction (Rudra Tandava) but not many are aware that there are two forms, the other being ‘Ananda’ (happy/joyful) Tandava. No points for guessing he must have performed the Ananda Tandava on Mahashivratri….

During my Arangetram (debut on stage for Indian Classical dancers with prior training- in my case Bharatanatyam) I had the privilege of performing the Tandava. My repertoire allowed me to showcase the Rudra Tandava, wherein Lord Shiva opened his third eye and caused destruction only to create life again.

Just imagine what dance can do!!!

I have not had the opportunity to perform the ‘Ananda Tandava’ yet. Well its never too late.

Yesterday my bestie told me “Whatever you wish for today will be GRANTED (wow)”. It is believed that all the Lords and Goddess’ were so happy on the unison of Lord Shiva and Maa Parvati that  they would grant every wish.

So Janata Janardhan AAJ DIL KHOLKE MAANGO!!!

Taal pe Tanz-TT

I am often asked, what is Taal pe Tanz - TT (earlier Mansissism)? Is it a dance school?, Is it an e-magazine wherein I cover the story of the famous dance artists? and some more queries…

I (Mansi Nagda) and Madhuri (aka Happy) Baheti are bankers by profession. In the corporate world we are so used to the ‘VISION-MISSION’ statements, the 5 year growth plans, so on and so forth. I guess it’s time to define the ‘VISION & MISSION’ of TT.

Tanz stands for Dance in German (Danke). Dance/Nritya/Tanz has played a major role in my development as an individual. I am thankful to Financial Guru (dad) and Raj Mata (mom) for introducing me to Bharatanatyam at the tender age of 4 and later to Ballroom (Standard & Latin) for my professional training.

My tutelage in these two forms (Sri Kalyan Raman Pillai- Bharatanatyam & Sandip Soparkar- Ballroom) which are very different from each other has only helped me to better understand the dynamics of Dance.

The spectrum of Dance is so wide that it is surely going to take me more than a lifetime to cover every element. Having said that Taal pe Tanz is an initiative to bring together all the Dance forms (National & International) to all the dance lovers, through my eyes.

There can be no Tanz without Taal (Music), so we would also put forth the different type of music that is inherent in different styles  and various other elements that encompass the universe of Dance.

Happy Baheti, a dance enthusiast herself is the co curator of TT. She brings in the fresh perspective of how do we take the ideas at TT to the common man. A true believer of Janata Janardhan (wink).

And finally to sum up the Vision & Mission our moto is:

'KEEP LOVING KEEP TANZING...'

PS: to know more do follow our page on fb https://www.facebook.com/mansissism/?fref=hovercard

Mysterious Prof. P

‘Contemporary’, dictionary defines it as modern, synchronous, etc. In the field of Dance the form ‘Contemporary’ resonates rhythm, grandiose and discipline. To me this dance form is a cocktail of a lot of dance styles viz Ballet, Indian Classical Dance forms (Kathak, Bharatanatyam, etc), Jazz and many more. What I like about this dance form is its ability to express emotions in a larger than life pattern and the unique quality of dancing off beat (partially).

Financial Guru (dad) has a knack of eyeing the undervalued stocks. Over the years he has always maintained his ground rule “A fundamentally strong company with a good management team will never FAIL you.” In my opinion this RULE is applicable to all walks of life. So, while covering my piece on contemporary I chose to showcase the journey of “The Mysterious Porf. P”, our very own Punit J Pathak.

I chose the catch phrase ‘Mysterious’ coz not much is known about him apart from his work credits. Ask him about his crazy fan encounter, he blushes and narrates how a fan girl innocently forced him to have a bite from her chocolate (LOL). Known for being the Machine that runs 24 hours (workaholic) in the industry, a humble soul, he naively admits “I am a narcissist when it comes to my Work. I give ‘it’ my everything, that’s how passionate I am about my Work” From Dance India Dance (Season 2) to Dance+ (Season 2) the journey is full of ups and downs, yet a fundamentally strong person with a great vision will indeed Succeed.

Let us unveil the Mystery…

You belong to a business family so how difficult was it to choose dance as a profession?

I am the elder son of the family, my dad naturally wanted me to be a part of the family legacy (Business). In my struggling phase of figuring out what to do in life I was clear about 3 things: I do not want to be a doctor, an engineer and I do not want to be associated with business. So I chose arts in St. Xavier’s college Mumbai. Before being a dancer I wanted to be a cricketer, I was the under 13 team captain for Mumbai team and the St. Xavier’s college team captain.

Hip Hop was my forte and my favourite dance style then. When performing for college events I was selected by Terrence Lewis Company for a scholarship program. I went on to work with his company for a long time. Not many people know, but I used to stammer while talking. With Dance and being a dance instructor I gained confidence and learnt the language of Dance.

Gradually I left Terrence sir’s company and went on to participate in Dance India Dance (DID) Season 2. Fun fact is that DID was not my most epic moment in life. The journey has been gradual and satisfying.

Tell us about your journey post DID…

Not many know that before DID season 2 I had auditioned for Jhalak Dikh Laja as a choreographer but I was rejected. One of the best things that happened to me on DID was that I got to be a part of Remo Sir’s team (Remo ke Rangeele). Post DID I went on to assist Remo Sir for his movie ‘FALTU’. It was there that I learnt Camera work and improved my film making skills. Alongside I continued pursuing dance with Jhalak Dikh Laja (4 Seasons). Later, I got to be mentor/judge on DID season 5 and finally came along Dance+ season 2.

How did Acting happen?

My association with Remo sir has been long standing. When he decided to make a dance movie I was offered the role of Chandu (ABCD first instalment). The only question I had asked him before taking up the project was whether I die before the interval or later. The character went to be a hit and then came ABCD2 where I play Vinod (yet another character with shades of dark). I have a knack of understanding dark and deep elements. Probably why my characters portray the same.

Technical Genius showing his MAGIC

One peculiar quality is your art of beautiful story telling through your performances, what has been your inspiration?

‘I like to be Different’, in a dance reality shows the selected dancers are already evolved as dancers. As a mentor, I then take it up as a challenge as to how can I combine their dancing prowess and my story telling in a 2-3 min performance. It’s my way of connecting with the audience and conveying my message.

What is the next thing on your bucket list (workwise) that you want to conquer?

Direction.

Final Message

3 things in life make a man ‘Talent, Hard work & Luck’. Luck is not in our hands. So along with talent make sure you work (MAD) hard to achieve your dreams.

Mysterious Prof. P (wink)

We will very soon see the Mystery Man in the upcoming movie NAWABZAADE!!!

Fun Fact one of our team members has a crush on him and we just made her day(wink). Courtesy Team Mansissim. Photo credits Ashish Baheti and Jimland Photography.

HALO RE HALO!!!

‘Ghor andhari re rataldi maan nisaraya chaar asavar, Ramjo Ramjo re Amba Maa tame Ramjo saari RAAT!!!’ a famous Gujarati garbo (song) that sums up Navrati for me. Navratri an Indian festival dedicated to the worship of goddess JagdAmba/Durga. Also celebrated as ‘Durga Pujo festival’, my friend ‘the Bangla Babu’, explains the significance: Lord Ram offered Neel Kamal (blue lotus’) to Maa Durga to attain her blessings before going to Lanka to rescue his abducted wife, Sita, from the grip of Ravana.

Rajmata (the queen of our hearts: MOM), Navratri being her favourite festival, takes me back to her childhood memories when she would participate in Raas-Garba competitions in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The secret to my Dancing genes is indeed my folk’s crazy passion for Dance Art…

BOLO AMBE MATA KI JAI!!!

Raas-Garba, one of the most celebrated form of Gujarati folk dance, is the true essence of Navratri. Raas also known as Dandiya Raas a synchronised dance form is traditionally performed with wooden sticks, while Garba a form with rigorous swirls and twirls is showcased in large groups matching the steps in motion.

Over the years Bollywood has captured this beautiful folk form with panache. One man ‘Sanjay Leela Bhansali’ has truly played with colours, grandiose and exuberance while showcasing this folk form. The team that has made is possible for him is the duo Samir & Arsh Tanna. Be it ‘Dholi Taro Dhol Baje’ (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam) or ‘Nagda Sang Dhol’/ ‘Lahu Muh Lag Gaya’ & ‘Bhai Bhai’ (Ramleela), the duo has left no stone unturned in presenting their devotion and passion for Garba. Their work consists of various Bollywood films viz, Humko tumse pyar hai, Dhanak, Gandhi my father and the list is long….

NAGADA SANG DHOL BHAJE........

The National Award winners for ‘Dholi Taro Dhol Baje’ and the Filmfare award for ‘Lahu Muh Lag Gaya’ got the curious me to cover their journey and unleash ‘the Dance Chemistry’.

My jalebi fafda (wink) time with ‘The Tannas’’

How did the Tanna Jodi meet?

Arsh: I am a trained classical dancer (Kathak). I had joined NM college for my under grad studies and Samir was my senior. Samir would handle the intercollegiate dance festivals. While auditioning for one such event I met Samir for the first time and let’s just say it was the classic college love story. 

Samir: Back then we were auditioning for a folk dance performance and Arsh being a classical dancer had her limitations, but the moment I saw her I wanted her in my dance troupe. That’s how we met and here we are.

ANIRUDH TANNA: DADAJI

Who is your inspiration?

Arsh: My journey with Samir personally and professionally and also my association with his family (Dada bhai- father in-law and my sister-in-law’s who themselves are classical dancers (Bharatanatyam and Manipuri) has somewhere been my major source of inspiration.                                                                                   

Samir: I owe my knowledge and love for dance/dramatics to my father Anirudh Tanna, famously known as ‘Dada bhai’ amongst the Gujarati art circle. He was a true “Showman”, a dramatics and dance teacher to the differently abled (blind, deaf & dumb), he has choreographed numerous dance ballets’ and written various narratives and songs.                                                                                     

Also our guru Indumati Lele (Folk dance teacher) and Hussain Khawra our Dholi is the inspiration for our beats.

DHOLI TARO DHOL BAJE

Tell us more about your journey…

We represented India at the World Folk festival and travelled the world (USA, Russia, London,etc) with our dance troupe in college days. When we came back we started getting choreography offers for inter-collegiate festivals. That’s how our journey as professional choreographers began. Then Sanjay bhai gave us our first Bollywood break with Dholi taro Dhol Baje (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam). With our big break we won our first National Award for choreography of Dholi taro.

How is working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali?

Arsh: Sanjay bhai is complete school of cinema in himself. He himself being a classical dancer (Odissi) his knowledge in the field is vast. He’s a true Mr. Perfectionist in the industry, I would always go with 10 different variations of the count and show him but he would always say “yeh acha hai but Arsh kuch aur dikhao”. So he pushes you to the limit and brings out the best in you. And apart from choreography he made me sit through the dance costumes, the look and every minute detailing. In my eyes that’s true passion. 

Samir: The fact that Sanjay bhai wants the best encouraged us to be very innovative. Like we used a dhol (weighed 10-12 kgs) in Dholi Taro and asked the dancer to twirl with it. That was first of its kind in the industry. Also in Ram Leela we created an Opera style authentic garba in the song Lahu Muh Lag Gaya. To our surprise we won the Filmfare for Lahu Muh Lag Gaya.

We always explain it as people who enjoy fast paced rigorous western styles (Hip Hop, whacking) will enjoy Nagada Sang Dhol and Dholi taro more, while Lahu Muh Lag Gaya is class and gratitude combined.

You have worked with two of the most beautiful female actors of our times (Aishwarya Rai Bachan and Deepika Padukone) who is your personal favourite as a dancer?

Arsh: Both are very dedicated and hardworking. But my personal favourite is Aishwarya.       

Samir: Its Deepika for me (laughs) (Men will be Men…..wink)

Samir bhai's favorite: Deepika Padukone (wink)

Your upcoming project.

You will see us in Raees with Shahrukh Khan…

Indian Folk as a dance art form needs be more publicised and encouraged amongst our youth today. ‘The Tanna Jodi’ are a true inspiration in keeping these dance forms alive. Indeed, their ‘Love for Dance’ has brought them together and created ‘The Dance Of Love’

RAMJO RAMJO RE!!!

Special mention team Mansissim: Happy Baheti and Ahish.