One of the first things that strikes one about hip-hop and B-boying artiste Niels Robitzky, better known as Storm, is his instant connect with people — not only through dance but also in the way he interacts with those who he has just met. 
Ask him about it and he says that this is the most important thing for a dancer. “As a dancer, if you can’t connect with your audience or if they don’t understand what your doing on stage, you have failed,” says Storm, who was in the City recently to conduct a workshop at the ‘Indo-German Urban Mela’.
Working with Indian dancers has been an interesting experience for him. According to Storm, it’s a lot easier to work with Indian artistes as they are influenced by many dance forms. But what really caught his eye was the history behind Indian dance itself.
Good friends with choreographer Terrance Lewis, Storm has been exposed to dance forms like kathak and bharatanatyam. “The very approach to these dances is so different. There is so much culture and history involved. It’s like the dancers are having a conversation with their ancestors, which you don’t find in our dance forms,” he adds.
Storm has also been influenced by these dance forms. In fact, he says he has incorporated a lot of Indian moves into his style as well. “Watching different styles of dance not only helps one grow but also to personalise your own style. I
always tell any new dancer that there is nothing like a good twist or a bad twist in dance, it’s all about giving it your personal touch,” he states.
With so many reality shows based on dance cropping up everyday, one wonders what Storm has to say about them. He takes one aback by stating that he has actually watched a couple of the Indian dance reality shows and even enjoyed the kind of talent that he has seen in the country. “I have watched ‘Dance India Dance’ and found it to be a really nice show. There are two ways of looking at such shows.
On one hand, you see people getting educated about so many different styles but at the same time, some of the judges are not all that well informed about the dance form. Hence, their comments can be a bit misleading as well,” he says.
When you say India, the first thing that comes to Storm’s mind is the food. With a broad smile he says, “I am a real big fan of Indian food. I have many Indian friends back in Germany so I can handle the spice out there; but when in India, I try to keep away from some of the spicy items. But apart from that, I have really enjoyed
myself here and hope to return with good memories.”