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

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...'

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