Bollywood Dance Scene – Interview
On the evening of December 12, 2015, the Panippookkal team arrived at Tapestry Folkdance Center to chat with the Bollywood Dance Scene Twin Cities. All sorts of colors and shades came into view as the energetic team entered the dance area. I understood that it was their last class for 2015, but I wouldn’t have guessed that myself as the team was full of great energy and smiles as if it were the first session of the year.
Class started with a few announcements, introduction of the choreographer of the day, and the warm up. Within each 90-minute class, the team learns new dance moves for an entire movie song. It’s astonishing to see the team learn the new choreography within just one class. On this last day for 2015, they were dancing to the song Aaluma Doluma from the Tamil Movie Vedhalam. Amidst their busy schedule, President and co-founder Divya Maiya, and co-founder Jinal Vakil spared some time to answer a few questions. Below is the transcript of the interview.
Panippookkal: Bollywood Dance Scene Twin Cities was the talk of the town during summer. Could you share the origin and growth of this dance company?
Divya: Almost three and half years ago, we were a few like-minded individuals with the intent to connect with people. We approached Tapestry with an idea of teaching Bollywood dance. Since Tapestry is a non-profit organization, they allowed us to use their space for the first two months on a trial basis. People started coming in and we got some new faces. Jinal recollected that she was fortunate enough to join this group. She joined toward the end of that trial period as another friend moved to a different state. Rashi Mangalick, Jinal Vakil and I joined hands to form Bollywood Dance Scene Twin Cities as an organization.
Panippookkal: We are in a land where people move quite a lot. People who initially planned to be part of your show may not be available when you actually host the show. How do you handle this?
Divya: Initially we were observing who is coming regularly and who has a greater interest in this theme. That is how we formed a small performance group. For the last two years, we held auditions exclusively for the performance team. Once they qualify, we ask for commitment to attend all the rehearsals until the show. Rehearsals can run 2 to 3 days a week for about 3 months. We are proud to share there are zero dropouts for the two successful shows conducted so far.
Panippookkal: Both your studio and your show have a great mix of talents coming from different parts of the world. What theme brings them here?
Divya: That’s the biggest highlight from our team and our shows—that we are mutually inclusive. Our mission is to promote cultural diversity and social harmony within the community through the joyful medium of dance. Tapestry is a good place for that. They bring all international dance forms together. Social media like Facebook, Meetup groups, and other websites are helping us big time on promotions. In general, people love Bollywood movies and the theme of Bollywood also attracts crowds. A wide range of people with different cultural backgrounds and ethnicity are participating in this. We do not confine ourselves to Bollywood alone, we expand it to different languages of India like Tamil, Telugu, Kanada, and Malayalam, etc. It is more of an extended Bollywood.
Panippookkal: Bollywood dance is a complex equation to understand. How do you design the courseware for your team?
Divya: We do not have any defined courseware. It is stylized, freestyle dance form based on moves used in the Indian/Bollywood films. It’s energetic, lyrical, and aerobic, modeled on classical/folk dance forms, and influenced by Western hip hop. Every 90-minute class’ choreography and theme are different. Anyone missing a class can come in and join the next session comfortably. That’s why we have the concept of the drop-in class. The concept of drop-in also attracts more people as they are not committed for any duration.
Panippookkal: Different genres of dances demand engaging trainers with multiple talents. How do you recruit choreographers?
Divya: We three come from different parts of India and are specialized in different dance forms and introduced those many forms. Rashi from Delhi is an expert in Bhangra, Garba and Raas. I’m from Bangalore and am good at South Indian dance forms. Jinal from Mumbai is an expert in Maharashtra-based folk form like Lavani. We do a lot of cultural events in addition to the shows and classes. We collaborated with “Out In The Backyard,” an LGBTQ-based community and also organized Holi and Garba events which attract more people. Through shows and different auditions, we have over 20 choreographers now. Vikram is a Bhangra expert. We do not limit people from performing as long as they have the interest and energy to perform.
Panippookkal: I had an opportunity to watch your production Spicy Masala Chai and had heard of your earlier production Hi! Hello! Namaste. Tell us your experience around theatrical shows. How open were the theaters to accept the show?
Divya: There is huge team working behind this with cast and crew adding up to about 75 people. Their contributions span across onstage performances, holding backstage, managing props, promotions, marketing and fund raising, etc. When compared to the effort that has gone into it, the show by itself is a very small part. We did it at the Fringe Festival, which is the largest unjuried theater festival in the country and they do a lottery-based selection.
Panippookkal: Music choice is critical for the success of the show. How do you select the music tracks and songs for the show? Entertaining the audience requires building a suitable humor track and story line. How is the script designed?
Divya: Combinations of script writers and choreographers review the story line and identify the suitable music tracks and songs. There is more focus towards picking something upbeat and which can carry the energy within the story. Script writers do a great job in selecting the songs that suit the story well. Himanshu and Alex are our script writers for the show. They moved from India and have stayed here for quite a long time now. They have unique skills in building the story line and humor track that can be widely accepted by the audience.
Panippookkal: I am sure you have faced many hurdles in managing such a studio and producing such shows. How do you approach those?
Divya: We have been really luck in not encountering many hurdles as at all. This is a volunteer-based organization with people coming together based on their passion for dance. Our biggest challenge would be the fundraising, and there too we have a few creative ways of generating funds through donations, etc. We are in the process of applying for grants too.
Jinal: And Divya has super power and energy to handle those odds.
Panippookkal: Congratulations on producing the best selling shows at the Fringe Festival. What are your future plans?
Last year Spicy Masala Chai was very successful and we ended up being the highest selling show in the history of Fringe. So the Minnesota History Society has invited us to do an encore performance of the same show, which is scheduled for April 30 and May 1 of 2016 at the Minnesota History Museum. It’s also part of a travelling exhibit at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC and is called “Beyond Bollywood.”
Panippookkal: As you are coaching the younger generation, would you share a few thoughts with the aspiring artists?
Divya: Just come and dance with us! We are a super friendly group. Forget your inhibitions. It doesn’t matter if you are a good dancer, bad dancer or even never danced before. We’ve had people who had never danced in their life join us and rock in the shows. Jayanthi Aunty, who exhibited best acting in both of our shows, had never acted on stage before. In short, it’s way too much FUN!
Panippookkal also had the opportunity to speak to Kate, one of the enthusiastic dancers of the group.
Panippookkal: What brings you to the Bollywood dance scene?
Kate: My five children and I love to dance, and we have several friends from India and we are entranced with their culture. We thought this is a perfect match. We are from Michigan and moved to St. Paul five years ago. My family is from Lebanon and I have a bit of aerobic dancing. The Bollywood dance scene brings in a breath of fresh air. Look at the world with all the fighting, and I think: if we all can dance together there will be no more war.
