2.28.2007

03.01 bollywood dance craze

last night some high school students from lawrence park high put on a benefit for the NGO i work for. it was a dance night called "urban", featuring dance and music from urban centres around the world. among these were nairobi, paris, and yes... mumbai.

the indian act was near the end of the night. my curiosity was piqued when i caught a glimpse of lycra-clad girls with brightly coloured sequins and jingling bells giggling on their way backstage.

well it was a bolly-hit.

500 teenagers and lucky chaperoning parents in the uptown toronto crowd screamed and shouted and moved their bhangra-shoulders to the bolly beat. the girls on stage were even incorporated the indian head wiggle (ihw) at one point! the kids went wild. the parents went wilder. it was an eye opener for me. i had no idea that bollywoood dancing was that popular. it always seemed so cheesy to me: the bollywood dance numbers on saturday morning television hindi films was (is?) as required as a morning chai. i cringe and laugh watching lovers dancing around in the park, raising one eyebrow at one another and coyly hiding their faces with sari silks. [oh, and the 'let's get our faces as close together as we can without actually kissing - the hallmark of the bolly dance sequence]. it was either that or the sound of fake taamashaas (slaps) and punches in the compulsory bolly-brawl scene.

funny enough the bolly dance thing really is a bit of a craze. today i was on BBC and came across this "in pictures" section... it's about bollywood dancing catching on like wildfire in yorkshire, uk. who knew it would get so hot?