Dance with Madhuri Dixit
By Renu Jain Chandarana @renujc
Entertainment Writer
If anyone was to ask me who my favorite Hindi film star is, I’d have to say it’s Madhuri Dixit. Something about her smile, her grace, the way she can act so very young and childish in one film, and then strong and empowered in the next, but most of all, I really feel she is the most talented dancer Bollywood has ever seen. When she retired from Hindi films, I totally felt the void, but at the same time I was so happy that she got married and had started a family – that too in the USA! She really has such a great head on her shoulders. Sigh….I heart her.
I thought we’d seen the last of her in 2002 with Devdas and Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, but in 2007 she came back with Aaja Nachle and rekindled that dance flame for her fans who had missed her presence all these years. I remember the first time I watched it, I rewound the dance sequences over and over again until I had the dance moves memorized. 
I used to do that exact same thing with her other dance songs when I was younger – Channe Ke Kheth Main, Palki Pe Hoke, Aaja Sajan Aaja, Mai Ni Mai, and of course all of her dance numbers from Devdas. Deep down, I have a soft spot for her because she’s trained professionally as a Kathak dancer – something I grew up doing too when all my friends around me where Bharatnatyam devotees. Sadly, the Aaja Nachle flame was doused once more and we fans were left in the dark.
Now, it’s 2013, and in true Madhuri fashion, she’s come back with the most innovative idea I’ve seen come from any Hindi film star. She’s started a dance academy online, so you can learn her dance moves step by step to classic dance routines from her films. Genius.
If you are a fan of Bollywood dancing, this site is for you! Not only will you get to watch short videos of her showing you how to do a few steps at a time, but you get to hear her sweet voice teach you in her classic mix of Hinglish.
When you log on to her website you understand that this is a pretty simplistic idea, done in a highly intellectual and very conscientious manner.
“This is my way of getting closer to my fans.” Madhuri said when she launched the site. “We want it to become such a dance academy where every dance style can be learned under one roof, whether it is Indian, folk, classical, or Western. Dance has always been my passion.”
In her opening remarks on the site, she explains how she feels dance is a language that knows no boundaries. There is a short tutorial that guides you on how to use the website – including Twitter and Facebook connections so you can log on through your Facebook account or Tweet your experience with her site. Then you see the thumbnails you’ve been waiting for. Madhuri dressed in a gorgeous flowy churidaar suit, ready to teach you her first dance, Mai Ni Mai from Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. Each short video, when completely viewed, unlocks the next video. Each video is under 2 minutes (that’s I’ve seen so far) giving you the opportunity to review it and learn only 4-5 steps at a time. Every time you complete a video, a cute message pops up that positively reinforces your accomplishment and allows you to post your progress on Facebook if you’ve logged in through it. But that’s not all.
The most amazing part of this whole experience is that once you feel you’ve mastered the dance, you can upload a video of yourself performing the dance (or even just a part of the dance) and Madhuri Dixit and the dance teachers of her academy will review them and give you feedback! There’s even a leader board for pupils who are showing the best progress and have mastered the moves. You can earn badges and points and real dance status! Amazing! What a way to make it fun and interactive.
I’m sold. She currently has two songs up, but she only unlocks one video (i.e. one part of a song) at a time until that whole song is complete. I imagine once you’ve completed a full song, another song is up for unlocking. So far she has Mai Ni Mai from Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and Ek, Do, Teen from Tezaab. I can only pray that she will release one of her Devdas dance numbers!
If you want to join her dance academy, log on to www.dancewithmadhuri.com and start the fun. Put the kids to bed, and find some ‘me time’ with Madhuri. That’s my plan! Then, once I have the moves down – I can teach my daughter during our playtime.
I’m so glad she’s back and reaching out in such a savvy way to her fans. Hats off to my fav superstar – In no time, you can say that you’ve got the moves like Jag…I mean Madhuri!
Are you planning to dance with Madhuri Dixit? What’s your all time favourite song by the dancing diva? Leave a comment and let us know!
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That’s wicked! Thanks for letting me know. I love all those dance routines and have tried memorizing them myself over the years. It’ll be fun to see which moves I couldn’t figure out!