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We could have danced all night
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Dance Revolution by students of Steps was bursting with energy, writes MINI ANTHIKAD-CHHIBBER
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PHOTO: D. GOPALAKRISHNAN
RHYTHM DIVINE From tiny tots to corporate heads, everyone let their hair down for an evening of dance and music
The jury is still out on Michael Jackson, but his anthemic Bad provided the ideal kick off for students of Steps at Dance Revolution 2 as they snarled and sneered in the best tradition of the king of pop.
There was the usual pre-show frenzy and one could hear Prithvi Raj, the moving spirit behind the dance studio shouting instructions, entreating, cajoling and threatening with dire consequences all those that did not behave.
Parents, siblings and friends thronged outside the Ravindra Bharati, waiting for the doors to open following the mandatory 45-minute delay. But all was forgiven in the mad scramble for seats with cell phone cameras on the ready as the opening notes of Bad thumped through the mike and the dancers pounded away for all they were worth.
The result of a 19-day-dance workshop, Dance Revolution 2 was a personification of Prithvi's belief that rhythm is intrinsic to all of us. The credo of bringing alive the passion and spirit hidden within through dance, has seen Steps expand from a single studio in Chennai to four with branches in Banjara Hills, Secunderabad and Hitech City.
Prithvi, who has trained under Ann Tonner of the Galiana Innova Ballet School for ballet and Heather Macneil for hip-hop and jazz, led from the front. Just recovering from a foot injury, he nevertheless performed a couple of dances.
The workshop was attended over 120 people from the age group of three to forty and all of them turned up in full force to dance their feet off. The little children were the absolute darlings of the show. They seemed to be having the most fun whether wiggling to Coco Jumbo or saucily commenting that they would like a little bit of Monica, Erica and similar lovelies (Mambo No 5). The bright happy smiles announced they were having the time of their lives.
Children would be children and while they swung along to Every Sha La La, they tripped the light fantastic as they returned - not for an encore but to pick up a couple of balloons!
The elders, including a corporate head honcho, wore suitably shimmering outfits and were determined to be in step (pun unintended!). Every sort of dance form from hip-hop to jazz and rock `n' roll (has to be Elvis) found a representation at the show.
There was an air of the Eighties with shimmer, glitter, disco and the whole dance off deal. The evening would have been complete if only obeisance had been paid to the king of popular dance, John Travolta, and a number from Grease or better still Stayin' Alive had found its way on stage.
Special mention ought to be made of the innovative costumes and the quick changes complete with the right accessories.
While this is the age of the instant celebrity and talent hunts, serious studies have proved the therapeutic benefits of dance. So either if you want a feeling of an incredible lightness of being or want your 15 seconds of fame, you could just set your feet tapping.
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