Dance Like a Man

Founder and artistic director of NDM Dance Productions and Studios,the first Bollywood dance school in the US,Mahajan introduced Bollywood dance on AXN’s show So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) and now returns for the show’s 10th season. His act for Season 4 by Katee Shean and Joshua Allen was on YouTube’s “Most Viewed” list for a week,and Mahajan is super excited to showcase his version of popular tracks Munni badnaam and Radha on the dance floor. “The show’s producer Nigel Lythgoe loves to add new elements to the repertoire. He contacted me in 2008 after checking out my choreography on shows such as The Office and Passions,” says Mahajan.

A Punjabi born in Agra,Mahajan says bhangra is in his blood. “Hindi films connect Indians living abroad to their roots. I have grown up watching amazing dancers such as Michael Jackson and Paula Abdul,but was fixated with the queen of mujra — Rekha. I was also in awe of Mithun Chakraborty’s disco dance,and the moves of dance icons such as Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit,even of Birju Maharaj’s fine footwork. I still follow Saroj Khan,Prabhudheva and Vaibhavi Merchant,” says Mahajan.

He says he always wanted to be an “Indian brown boy in the US and still stand out”. So he started taking Kathak classes from Vandana Sheth. In 1998,he formed NDM Bollywood Dance Productions and in 2003,he started the dance studio in Artesia,CA.

Heavily influenced by classical Indian dances,he fuses hip-hop, Latin and jazz,and his work has earned him the status of “Hollywood’s favourite Bollywood choreographer”. He has made the likes of Natalie Portman, David Schwimmer, Chris Kattan, Steve Carrel and Kal Penn dance to his tunes on shows such as America’s Best Dance Crew and Superstars of Dance. This year,he choreographed a Bollywood piece for Miss New York Nina Davuluri,the reigning Miss America. “Nina’s win has opened a lot of doors,” says the dancer,who is driven by music and positivity which also helped him battle testicular cancer last year. “I’ve been cancer free for eight months now. Although I was grounded at home to stay clear of infection,I took classes through video,and watching dance was therapeutic,” he says.

When not dancing,Mahajan loves to cook. “Kitchen is my second home,I am a big foodie,” he says. Is a visit to India on the cards? “Sure,it’s planned for 2015,” he says.