Metrolife: City dancers head for big event in Spain

A team of 60 dancers, who qualified in the Dance World Cup India qualifiers, held in the city a while ago, are now preparing to compete in the final round. It will be held from June 22 to July 1 at Sitges in Spain.

The participants from Bengaluru bagged 20 awards and are now ready to compete in the final round.

Salsa dancer Lourd Vijay, who had organised the qualifiers with the Indian Society for Performers and Teachers of Dance, says, “I decided to host the India qualifiers because I wanted more dancers to gain exposure and experience. I want the young dancers from here to go abroad and watch the different dance groups around the world.”

The participants were aged between four and 25 years.

The dancers who are going for the final round are an excited bunch and were eager to talk about their preparations for the final round.

Nineteen-year-old Anirudh Gopinath, a student of International Institute of Hotel Management, won the gold medal in the national folk solo category and scored 91 out of 100.

He says, “I heard of this competition three years ago and since then it has been my dream to compete in this event. I have worked really hard. I had rehearsals at night since I had college during the day. I have mixed a lot of Indian styles in my performance, including bharathanatyam, kathak and kuchipudi. The judges noticed the confidence in my body language and performance. I think that is what made my performance unique.”

Anirudh has been training in bharathanatyam for a couple of years now and looks up to his mentor and trainer Sanjay Shantaram.

Sharing her perspective, 15-year-old Ketaki Vaze was the first runner-up in the junior hip-hop solo category. She says, “I had showcased a new technique that I learnt from my friends called ‘popping’. This is the third time that I am participating in the finals. My coach and trainer Bee Kay Bharathi Kanan encouraged me to focus
on my performance and remain calm.”

The team from India going to Spain have participants from Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Gurgaon and Vijaywada.