Dancing Kings

Founded by Krishna Mohan in a small village,12 kms from Behrampur in Orissa,this group comprises of young boys and men who are daily wage labourers. Mohan,a dance teacher,reminisces,”Our dance group was founded on the basis of passion and sincerity. We would meet after work at a Kali Mandir at night and practice our dance. People thought we were mad! Our families thought we were wasting our time. But deep down we were all pursuing what we loved doing. Dancing gave a meaning to our otherwise aimless life.”

The group then started participating and winning in local competitions,but still earned no money. “Keeping up my own and my team-mates morale was becoming difficult…but then came the audition call from Boogie Woogie in 2006,” Mohan mortgaged his belongings,raised loans and donations and made it to Mumbai. “We didn’t have a lot of money to spend on stay and food. My team survived on one meal a day for eight days we were in Mumbai.” Inspite of losing their costumes and performance music CD before the finals,they ended up as runner-ups at Boogie Woogie – and the producers graced them with a cash prize of Rs. 75,000. “People would call us for shows and we would be paid peanuts,” tells Mohan who,along with his team,auditioned for India’s Got Talent,and their ‘Krishna Dance’ and ‘The Tribute to India – Flag Act’ won them standing ovations. Following this,they were signed on by Sony Music’s Artist Management Division. Since then,Prince Dance Group has performed in over 50 shows – which include corporate clients like ICICI,ITC,Wills Lifestyle Fashion Show and Rohit Bal. They currently do anywhere between 15-20 shows a month. “I am happy that our faith and hard work paid off. But what makes me the happiest is my dancers – who have immense faith in me – have had their life changed for the better. Now they and their families don’t have to struggle for basic needs like meals,clothing and shelter. I just hope along the way I can make a difference to more lives through my art,” Mohan ends on a happy note.