Freestyle dance rules Delhi's heart

Shri Ram Centre organised a dance performance, Jazba by the India Dans Theater recently.

Choreographed by Feroz Haidar, founder and artistic director of the institute, the audience enjoyed a series of performances by different age groups of children. Dance styles inc­l­u­ded salsa, hip-hop and freestyle and contemporary. He has dedicated his talent to training and teaching conte­m­porary and free style dance to all age groups. “We have three levels of students – kids, adults and professionals. The idea behind the event was to showcase the hard work our student had done.”

Poonam Agarwal, a personality development trainer, whose daughter Shreya, was performing on this stage for the first time could not hide her excitement, “Learning dance has been a great experience for both of us - me and my daughter. It has given a boost to her creativity. She is performing tonight. Children gather confidence when performing on stage.”

Before every dance piece, a member of the group came on stage and narrated a personal story of his own that gave a glimpse into the next act. Passion in Dance and Dance in Passion is the motto of the institute. The numerous pieces saw young kids, take on the mask of frogs and sashay on the frog song while the adult group did some mind-blowing leg and body-swaying moves onstage. The songs included Toy Story, Crazy Frog, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, If I Rise etc.

The dance institute welcomes people from all backgrounds - as long as they have the passion. Among the styles they teach are jazz, free style, contemporary, ballet and western techniques. After training at the workshop they perform in front of a live audience.

These dance performances are held twice in the year. Rekha, a senior trainer with the group for past two years considers dance a vital element of her life, “As a senior instructor I also train the basic level students. It is always fun to dance in front of a live audience. In our academy you will find a 50-year old man dance too. It is not difficult because they have the basic idea of what their level will hold.”

The moves taught at the school enhances the vocabulary of dance among many. The parents’ eyes welled up with tears as they cheerfully applauded their childrens’ act. Certainly it was an evening to remember.