On Saturday April 16th I will be teaching a 'Bhangra to Bollywood' dance workshop at the Abbey in Cumberland. We will learn some technique and a choreography that I created for a group to music by the UK group the Dhol Foundation. Because what we know as Bhangra and Bollywood dance today is a fusion I wanted to provide some basic info about these dance styles. Here is some information about Bhangra I found on Wikapedia-
Bhangra is a form of dance and music that originated in the Punjab region of India. Bhangra dance began as a folk dance conducted by Punjabi Sihk farmers to celebrate the coming of the harvest season. The specific moves of bhangra reflect the manner in which villagers farmed their land. This hybrid dance became bhangra. The folk dance has been popularised in the Western world by Punjabi and is seen in the West as an expression of South Asian culture as a whole. Today, Bhangra dance survives in different forms and styles all over the globe – including pop music, filmsoundtracks, collegiate competitions and cultural shows.
Here is an example of a Bhangra dance with some 'Bollywood' influnce. It is performed by white Sihks for a friend's wedding and it is one of my favorite Bhangra videos on Youtube-
Bhangra is a form of dance and music that originated in the Punjab region of India. Bhangra dance began as a folk dance conducted by Punjabi Sihk farmers to celebrate the coming of the harvest season. The specific moves of bhangra reflect the manner in which villagers farmed their land. This hybrid dance became bhangra. The folk dance has been popularised in the Western world by Punjabi and is seen in the West as an expression of South Asian culture as a whole. Today, Bhangra dance survives in different forms and styles all over the globe – including pop music, filmsoundtracks, collegiate competitions and cultural shows.
Here is an example of a Bhangra dance with some 'Bollywood' influnce. It is performed by white Sihks for a friend's wedding and it is one of my favorite Bhangra videos on Youtube-
About Bollywood Dance
The dancing in Bollywood films, especially older ones, is primarily modelled on Indian dance: classical dance styles, dances of historic northern Indian courtesans, or folk dances. In modern films, Indian dance elements often blend with Western dance styles . Bellydance has also influenced Bollywood dance and many of the big Bollywood stars study Bellydance with world reknowed teachers, often in the West. The hero or heroine will often perform with a troupe of supporting dancers. Many song-and-dance routines in Indian films feature unrealistically instantaneous shifts of location or changes of costume between verses of a song. If the hero and heroine dance and sing a duet, it is often staged in beautiful natural surroundings or architecturally grand settings. This staging is referred to as a "picturisation". Songs typically comment on the action taking place in the movie, in several ways. Sometimes, a song is worked into the plot, so that a character has a reason to sing. Other times, a song is an externalisation of a character's thoughts, or presages an event that has not occurred yet in the plot of the movie. In this case, the event is often two characters falling in love. The songs are also often referred to as a "dream sequence", and anything can happen that would not normally happen in the real world.
(Some of the above info is also taken from Wikapedia)
The video clip below is from 'Aaja Nachle'- Come Dance With Me, a very popular Bollywood movie starring diva Madhuri Dixit. I will also be teaching some bollywood dance combinations to this song that I learned when I was studying dance in India. The movements relate to the lyrics and the dancer will often 'lip synch' along with the song.
Class size is limited, call (250)335-1964) to register. Also, visit the 'classes/workshop' page on this blog for more info.