By Renu Chandarana @renujc
Entertainment Writer
Dance has always been a part of my life. I’ve been doing it since I was four – that’s when an auntie in my community first taught me the limp step … you know, the move where you push the ball of your right foot into the ground as your left foot lifts up in front of it, causing your body to rise up and down to the dhol or tabla beat…wait, what’s that you say? You don’t know what I’m talking about? Well, don’t worry. There’s an app for that.
Learn to Dance Bollywood is a fantastic app that will, indeed, show you how to do various moves from basics such as the limp step to the fully choreographed Jai Ho! routine — and many more!
Ajanta Chakraborty and her husband Vivek Kumar are owners of Bollywood Groove, a Bollywood dance company based out of Chicago. They created the Learn to Dance Bollywood app when they saw the general public confusing Bollywood dancing with belly dancing,
“I do a lot of events where I lead a Bollywood dance session,” explains Ajanta, “and a woman who came to one of my dance sessions saw me in costume and squealed ‘oh, she’s a belly dancer!’ That’s when I knew I needed to inform those around me on what Bollywood dance really is!”
In my opinion, not only is this app informing the world on what Bollywood dance is, it’s also a way to bring communities together on one platform. If I wanted to, right now, I could use this app to create a flash mob of filmi dancing guys and gals in my local mall or, say, Grand Central Station. I just direct all participants to download the app (it’s free!), tell them the song we’re doing, give them a few weeks to learn it and BAM! We show up and perform our guts out and go viral.
OKAY- that’s a grand vision. How about if my sisters, friends, cousins and I need to perform at a ladies’ party at an upcoming wedding, but we all live in different cities? Well, peeps – download the app, learn the dance and when we all meet a few days before the performance, we’ll bang it out in one rehearsal. Easy peasy … Did I mention it’s free?
This app is available for downloading to the iPhone and iPad. It has a user friendly interface and is so colourful that I actually feel like I’m about to embark on a fun activity just while navigating through the menus.
The first page that pops up is a menu of the types of lessons you can learn: Free Lessons, Choreographed Dances, Club & Party Dances, and BOLLYWOOD CARDIO WORKOUT! That’s right, not only does Ajanta teach the more “traditional” forms of Bollywood dance but she has a program that allows you to burn calories while “hitch-kitcha-ing” in your living room, hotel or office!
The app is Ajanta’s shout out to her hardcore Bollywood cardio pupils.
“I have some members who love to do the cardio classes so much that they feel like a part of them is missing when they have to travel and be away from class. This app lets them stay on top of their workouts and have fun anywhere they want!” says Ajanta.
There are many free lessons but, if you master those and are yearning for more, you can download additional videos for just $1.99. Ajanta and her team are constantly creating new material and are adding more as they see the demand. The videos are broken up in parts; therefore each video is very short and can allow for a beginner to learn at their own pace. Here’s a sampling of how they look. http://www.bollygroove.com/online-lessons/
The reason I think this app is so brilliant is because it’s really meant for all levels and for guys and girls, as well as kids. Songs like “Paisa Paisa” have a more hip hop feel that guys would enjoy learning, and then there’s the classic “Jai Ho!” that appeals to both the Indian and non-Indian folks. As a mom, I’m definitely going to use this app to teach my daughter some cool moves!
From the start of creating and choreographing a new number to shooting it, editing it and posting it for the world to see, it takes Ajanta about one month — sometimes more — to complete. It’s a real labour of love.
When I asked her what the most downloaded dance was on the app she explained, “Definitely Discowale Khisko and Cardio Fit One. Users don’t feel like they’re dancing, they’re just having fun, because the music is lively and they are experiencing all the joyful elements of the dance form while they learn new moves and keep fit.”
Finally, when I asked her what she thought the best thing about this app was Ajanta revealed, “I can’t believe this app is downloaded all over the world. I receive statistics from Apple showing where this app is being used and I’m seeing tons of users in Africa, the Middle East and United Arab Emirates, places where dance is not really of a mechanism of freedom of expression, so that is so fulfilling for me.”
What I really loved about speaking with Ajanta was her undeniable passion for Bollywood dance. She is a trained classical dancer with a senior diploma in Bharat Natyam from India and a master’s degree in computer science from the University of British Columbia. Her husband has an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. When you combine their talents you get Bollywood Groove, a thriving Chicago dance company that can be accessed from anywhere in the world, thanks to their Learn to Dance Bollywood app.
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