Bollywood Mania Hits Sydney!

Bollywood dance mania is taking the world and Sydney by storm.

Farah Shah, director of Mango Dance Productions and one of Sydney’s leading Bollywood dancers and teachers, explains a little about the origins of this fun and energetic dance form.

“Bollywood movies are famous for their colourful and elaborate dance sequences, with large troupes energetically dancing to modern Indian songs. The style is a mixture of Modern Indian, Bhangra, Arabic and while also including Western influences like Hip hop, Jazz and Funk. All these ingredients combine to create the Bollywood dance form.”

With movies such as Monsoon Wedding, The Guru and Moulin Rouge bringing Bollywood culture to Western screens, demand for classes is at an all time high.

So why is Bollywood dancing so popular at the moment?

“People tend to enjoy dancing Bollywood style as it is dynamic, energetic, has a tongue in cheek non-serious nature to it, while being very theatrical. And most of all – it’s lots of fun!”

“Plus the music is from famous Bollywood movies that people have seen – such as Dilse, Devdas, Lagaan and also Panjabi MC.  It is a pleasure to see my students grinning from ear to ear as they dance Bollywood moves – both from Indian and Australian cultural backgrounds” explains Farah.

Farah has performed in and choreographed Bollywood shows and events for 20 years.  One of her professional highlights has been training in London in Musical Theatre and working with choreographers from the West End Bollywood musical Bombay Dreams.

With 25 years of training and performing in Jazz Ballet, Street Funk, Hip Hop, Contemporary and Belly dance, Farah is well qualified to spread her passion for Bollywood to a new Australian audience.

An what of the origins of Bollywood? Bollywood is the nickname given to the Indian film industry based largely in Bombay. The Bollywood movie industry is massive! It makes up to 800 films a year - twice as many as Hollywood with about 14 million Indian people going to the cinema everyday. Films are made so fast that sometimes actors on set shoot scenes for four different films at a time - using the same actors and the same backgrounds!

Farah has returned to Sydney and is now sharing her expertise in Bollywood dancing through her Bollywood Dance School - Mango Dance Studio. She runs Bollywood classes, courses and  workshops in and around the Sydney and is also about to launch her new “Bollywood SPICE” performance group.

The fun and glamour of Bollywood is just waiting for you!

By Farah Shah & Dancenetwork.com.au. For more information about Bollywood and other Mango Dance Production workshops contact enquiries@mangodance.com.au.