Yes, this is Bollywood

When people ask me what I do, I tell them well… I teach Bollywood dance, that I have my Bollywood dance school in Amsterdam called NAVRAS for last 6 years. They get all excited and have so many questions about Bollywood and want to join my classesJ . So the conversation starts, with my experience I have seen that some people just know the Oscar winning movie called “Slumdog Millionaire” and the Jai Ho song from the movie, few others know some names of famous stars like Sharukh Khan and Salman Khan and others know that Bollywood is from India but have no clue about what it is.

I take this opportunity to impart my abundance knowledge about Bollywood films and dance and proudly say that I come from the Bollywood city called Mumbai. They listen carefully with the twinkle in their eyes, hoping one day they can dance like the Bollywood stars 😉

Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for Hindi language film industry based in Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay). Mumbai has long been one of India’s foremost centers for arts and culture. City of Bollywood stars and 1000’s of struggling actors who wants to make if big one day in this glamorous Bollywood film industry.

Bollywood dancing is a commercial name for modern Indian dancing and is now popular across the world. It’s a combination of classical Indian dance (which is the base), folk dancing such as Bhangra and sometimes has a Latino and Arabic influence. It’s fun and very expressive and there’s a lot of deep meaning behind music in the films. You can actually express what the music means, through the graceful movements of the body. Bollywood dance is easy on the eye, dramatic facial expressions and a great exercise as well. Especially, in Europe I need to clarify to everyone that Bollywood and belly dancing are two different forms of dances with different techniques. Bollywood dance style incorporates other dance movements in the choreography depending on the music and beats.

Bollywood films generally have many songs and lots of dancers to help tell the stories. The use of vibrant colours and modern Indian music make these films intoxicating. Bollywood films are often called as Masala films, like the curry, mean “a spicy mixture” of genres, so one film can combine comedy, drama, romance and action.

Of course with the success of films such as the Oscar winning movie “Slumdog Millionaire”, Bollywood films and dance have taken the world by storm & has now come into the global spotlight. Bollywood movies and Films are famous world over now. US, Canada, Asia, Europe, non-Indians are fascinated by the exotic, lavish sets, production value, extravagant costumes etc. For example, famous singers like Madonna, Shakira & Britney Spears have incorporated the Bollywood style of dance or music into their songs, videos and stage shows.

I have given workshops for 100’s of groups (Europeans, Indians and Suriname etc), to couples who are excited to learn Bollywood dance and perform in their wedding. Families learn dance to surprise the bride and bridegroom. I remember a 9 years old girl learned dance from me to surprise her grandfather on his 75^th birthday. I thought it was the sweetest gesture from her for her grandfather. Mother’s gifting the dance course for the daughter’s birthday, mother daughter joining the course together to get a feel of the popularity of this form, wear the colorful costume and dance at the course end performance. There are endless list of special occasions were people want to learn this form of dance and make someone happy.

In my class, I give my students the translation of the lyrics before I start the class; they know from the start what they will be dancing on. Whether I will teach a wedding song, a classical song with facial expression and hand movements, or fun/romantic song or a sexy song, they know the lyrics and translation beforehand. These make the non-Indian more comfortable and learn the dance quickly and easily. However there are always a few who take their time and concentrate on being a perfectionist.

The beat of Bollywood songs never fails to bring a big smile on everyone’s face. They go out of the studio humming that tune and it stays with the forever.

Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances so why not do Bollywood dance and say Jai Ho (Let there be victory) 😉

By: Vyj