The reality shows are indication enough of how eight to 80-year-olds of India are dancing away to glory, but the interesting thing is people aren?t swaying to Bollywood or classical dance beats alone. For many, leisure is dancing western ? of all types and more. Think Salsa, Jazz, Chachacha, Samba, Rhumba, Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Pasodoble, Merengue, Jive?
Madhuruchi Lamba, president, Sunil Healthcare Ltd is taking lessons in Jazz dance and wants to Jive and do the Salsa too. ?Western dance is a part of our living style today, a part of our culture. I enjoy its energy and vitality. It helps me to coordinate and perform better in office.?
Not surprisingly, numerous western dance schools are sprouting. Some have choreographers like Sandip Soparrkar and Ashley Lobo as teachers too. There is no age barrier and as Rashmi Shetty, a cosmetic doctor, points out: ?Rhumba is a very soft dance that not only relaxes but even aged people can practise.?
Sandip Soparrkar, choreographer and instructor, initially took to dance for the love of it. He was engaged as the head of a PR firm and also worked with the Holiday Inn Group of Hotels. But later he started training youngsters who wanted to take it up as a serious hobby or their vocation. ?It?s a craze right now. Corporate officials too are taking dance as a fitness programme.? He also holds classes for corporates in the office premises. ?If you can?t come to us, we will go to you?, he says. For such classes you end up spending something between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000, depending on whether they are bi-weekly or just a single class per week. People who turn up at the academy pay Rs 4,000 for 16 lessons spanning over two months.
While people are going crazy about western classical dances, they often have no idea what suits them. So, the instructor comes up with a package that fits his students. For instance, for the corporate classes, where the students are around 40, the package includes a mix of slow as well as fast dances. For a beginner, it is best to start with slow dances like Rhumba, Salsa or even Samba, depending on the age. ?A person looking for slow dances should opt for Rhumba, Waltz, Foxtrot or Tango. Someone who is looking for weight loss should be given lessons in Samba, Salsa, and Jive, but for simple fun and relaxation one can go in for Chachacha, Pasodoble, Merengue or Quick Step,? says Soparrkar.
Private classes are held for Bollywood actors and stars too. The charges are as high as Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 per person. Shetty, who takes private lessons, says: ?I don?t have time to go for classes. So I take private lessons, as they are easier to arrange?. And it is not compulsory to take all your 16 classes within a span of two months. For Shetty, it is a part of her physical exercise too. ?I don?t want to go to gyms for workouts. The Latin American form of Chachacha is really a good way to burn a few extra calories,? she says. Sheela Jaywant, a doctor at Hinduja Hospital, is a regular at the group classes at her workplace. ?These classes have provided me a common platform for socialising,? reflects Jaywant.
Highlighting a little more on these corporate classes, a professional from HSBC adds: ?The company only provides the space and the facilities for the trainers to come and teach the dances. However, it is at the request of the employees that such classes are held in the company. It is completely self-financed and the company has no role to play in it.? She is all for Chachacha, both the typical Latin American form, and a vigorous variant that is good for losing a few kilos. Time is a big constraint for her, but she wouldn?t mind going that extra mile to be in a Soparrkar class.
Ashley Lobo, a professional choreographer, started dancing because he loved the form. As an instructor, he takes classes in his own private academy and also in some corporate organisations. ?Instructors go over to the organisation twice a week and teach a batch of 25 to 35 students at a go,? says Lobo. The organisations pay Rs 15,000 for eight classes of 90 minutes each. Whatever the reasons, it is a fact that western dance is penetrating our culture. Youngsters are embracing it, opening up more options on the hobbies list.