<p>The new dance reality show Super Dancer (Sony) comes as a shot in the arm for the channel’s weekend programming. Preceding the popular Kapil Sharma Show, this one dishes out a varied menu for the family audience by being a platform for children to showcase their talent as budding and aspiring dancers.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The show is the converging ground for kids from all corners of the country and from all backgrounds. With many reality shows on air that look like clones of each other, the element that sets a reality show apart is the group of contestants. And on this aspect, Super Dancer does score well, by garnering eyeballs as it unfolds breathtaking performances by its cast of child performers.<br /><br />From Ditya Bhande, Dipali Borkar and Ananya Chouksey to Harsh Dhara and Pancham Bhagwati, among others, the child artistes showcase an assortment of dance moves, dedication, discipline and, most of all, an abiding passion for dance. And a bit of drama as well! On display is a mind-boggling improvisation of varied dance forms from Bollywood, including belly-dancing to hip-hop, contemporary and freestyle.<br /><br />The children’s energetic performances evoke not only applause, but also imbue the show with melodrama. For instance, after Harsh’s touching performance to the song Aankhon Hi Aankhon Me (Barfi), it’s disclosed that not only is he recreating the disability of the actors in Barfi, but he is himself deaf and mute. And the atmosphere becomes more emotionally charged when it’s disclosed that Harsh’s father is also differently abled. Though the melodrama quotient goes on a tad too far, when the judges take recourse to tears, the child lightens the mood by grooving with his choreographer to Baby Ko Bass Pasand Hai for Geeta Maa.<br /><br />The judges — Bollywood diva Shilpa Shetty, veteran choreographer Geeta Kapur and director Anurag Kashyap — make the show better with their expertise, their chemistry with each other, and their rapport with the contestants.<br /><br />Though the leg-pulling among judges has become a hallmark of most reality shows, here, it doesn’t seem contrived at any point, nor does it go overboard. The friendly professional equation that Shilpa and Anurag may have shared, having worked together on films, spills on to this stage, as Anurag teasingly calls Shilpa ‘aunty’, or as Shilpa takes pot-shots at his complexion.<br /><br />The host, Rithvik Dhanjani, fits well into all the mast and madness. He neither stands out in the crowd with any memorable gags or punchlines, nor is boring.<br /><br />The guest actors manage to entice eyeballs by drawing on their star quotient. Ajay Devgn takes the stage to talk about Shivaay; Ranbir Kapoor does the same to promote Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. The dancers, however, make this moment memorable when they twist and turn their limbs to form a dil for Ranbir’s upcoming release, and by recreating the magic of the Raj Kapoor era with an contemporary performance set to Mera joota hai Japani.<br /><br />The hallmark of a successful reality show catering to the talent template should be to showcase the best in that age group, cutting across strata and socio-cultural barriers. To that end, Super Dancer emerges as a winner.<br /><br /></p>
<p>The new dance reality show Super Dancer (Sony) comes as a shot in the arm for the channel’s weekend programming. Preceding the popular Kapil Sharma Show, this one dishes out a varied menu for the family audience by being a platform for children to showcase their talent as budding and aspiring dancers.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The show is the converging ground for kids from all corners of the country and from all backgrounds. With many reality shows on air that look like clones of each other, the element that sets a reality show apart is the group of contestants. And on this aspect, Super Dancer does score well, by garnering eyeballs as it unfolds breathtaking performances by its cast of child performers.<br /><br />From Ditya Bhande, Dipali Borkar and Ananya Chouksey to Harsh Dhara and Pancham Bhagwati, among others, the child artistes showcase an assortment of dance moves, dedication, discipline and, most of all, an abiding passion for dance. And a bit of drama as well! On display is a mind-boggling improvisation of varied dance forms from Bollywood, including belly-dancing to hip-hop, contemporary and freestyle.<br /><br />The children’s energetic performances evoke not only applause, but also imbue the show with melodrama. For instance, after Harsh’s touching performance to the song Aankhon Hi Aankhon Me (Barfi), it’s disclosed that not only is he recreating the disability of the actors in Barfi, but he is himself deaf and mute. And the atmosphere becomes more emotionally charged when it’s disclosed that Harsh’s father is also differently abled. Though the melodrama quotient goes on a tad too far, when the judges take recourse to tears, the child lightens the mood by grooving with his choreographer to Baby Ko Bass Pasand Hai for Geeta Maa.<br /><br />The judges — Bollywood diva Shilpa Shetty, veteran choreographer Geeta Kapur and director Anurag Kashyap — make the show better with their expertise, their chemistry with each other, and their rapport with the contestants.<br /><br />Though the leg-pulling among judges has become a hallmark of most reality shows, here, it doesn’t seem contrived at any point, nor does it go overboard. The friendly professional equation that Shilpa and Anurag may have shared, having worked together on films, spills on to this stage, as Anurag teasingly calls Shilpa ‘aunty’, or as Shilpa takes pot-shots at his complexion.<br /><br />The host, Rithvik Dhanjani, fits well into all the mast and madness. He neither stands out in the crowd with any memorable gags or punchlines, nor is boring.<br /><br />The guest actors manage to entice eyeballs by drawing on their star quotient. Ajay Devgn takes the stage to talk about Shivaay; Ranbir Kapoor does the same to promote Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. The dancers, however, make this moment memorable when they twist and turn their limbs to form a dil for Ranbir’s upcoming release, and by recreating the magic of the Raj Kapoor era with an contemporary performance set to Mera joota hai Japani.<br /><br />The hallmark of a successful reality show catering to the talent template should be to showcase the best in that age group, cutting across strata and socio-cultural barriers. To that end, Super Dancer emerges as a winner.<br /><br /></p>
