Garba workshops in Bengaluru ahead of Navaratri

Eight-day bootcamps, one-day sessions, and private classes will be held.

With a few weeks to go until Navaratri, some dance instructors in Bengaluru are offering quick courses in garba and dandiya. While garba is performed with bare hands, dandiya involves the use of sticks. Navaratri starts on October 15 and goes on until October 24.

Navratri 2023

Bijal J Shah has trained four batches this season already. She offers 10 hours of classes spread over Saturdays and Sundays. The next set of classes will start from September 23.

“On October 8, I will invite participants of all my batches to play garba-dandiya so they can experience the ‘real dance’,” says Bijal, a Zumba instructor. She will cover the basic ek-taali and do-taali and advanced routines like ‘6-steps’ and ‘8-steps’. “I will also teach participants how they can progress from slow to fast steps without missing a beat, and will give them styling tips,” says Bijal.

September 23 to October 7 at Bijal Fitness n Dance Studio, Rajajinagar, fee Rs 1,800. Call: 97316 75149

Garba for beginners

Hemali Thakkar will hold two workshops of 90 minutes each. She plans to teach six to eight garba steps to help beginners get through Navaratri with ease. “Then, we will make a short garba dance reel. In the last segment, I will teach them 3-4 dandiya steps,” shares Hemali, who is a tax consultant. Each class can take in about 25 participants.

On September 23, 2.30 pm-4 pm and September 24, 3.30 pm-5 pm, at Lahe Lahe, Kodihalli; fee Rs 650 per class. Contact livelahelahe on Instagram.

Garba dance workshops

Sheena Chaudhary will conduct three workshops of 1.5 hours each. Each workshop will have a warm-up session, a training session covering important steps, and a choreography session.

“I will teach the simple ek-, do- and teen-taali first. Then, I will move to the more complex ‘12-steps’, ‘14-steps’ and dodiyo,” says Sheena, a social media marketer and a belly dancer. “At the end, I will choreograph a small routine with garba moves and Bollywood dance steps and we will dance to a fun number,” says Sheena.

October 7, 8 and 14 at OneUp Fitness, Indiranagar, fee Rs 499. Call 96329 40054

Garbaton 2023

Brothers Nimesh and Mohit Chhag are currently teaching four batches at multiple venues. They have students in the age group 13 to 62. They are in the process of scheduling their upcoming workshops.

Their workshop lasts eight sessions and requires a minimum of 10 participants as “garba can be only performed in big groups”. The brothers are trained dancers and they teach taali progression from “2 to 12” and essential moves like popat and dodiyo. They also take private classes.

Like other workshops, this one will also conclude with a garba-dandiya dance session.

At multiple locations, fee Rs 2,500. Call: 99861 68449