Street Spirit

“I think UTV Bindass has taken a great initiative by introducing a show specifically on this style which today is perhaps the most sought-after dance form in the country. Street style is fun,vibrant and visually very appealing,” confirms Shiamak. Aanchal Gupta,proprietor of Arts in Motion Studio,also confirms that currently B-boying is the most-sought after class even though they also offer Krumping,Krump-hop and Hip-hop. “When we introduced it last year,we did a lot of campaigning. Today,we have teenagers who are crazy about the dance form. We have also dedicated this year to B-boying.” With its popularity soaring,Gupta now plans to introduce street dance forms to the younger students as well.

India enjoys a rich history of street dancing. Vasudevs (the early morning dancers on streets),the rope-walk dancers and Balya dancers (where drummer sits in the centre and the troupe dances around him) are still popular in many parts of the country. “There are many people who are most comfortable dancing in their own turf and that’s exactly where their talent shines the most,” feels Davar,who is aiming to get more youth involved in energetic street dance forms,like B-boying and Krumping. These forms originated in New York in the late ’70s as a means to vent out anger and ill feelings. “It is also a battle of egos where each one is trying to outdo the other,” says Gupta,who feels these vigorous dance forms help improves body control as well.

Popular culture has often showcased street dancing. Popping and locking,an off-shoot of Hip-hop,was popularised by Justin Timberlake,Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Hip-hop specialists 50 cents and Eminem had many Indians rapping in their mobster-style. “With the exposure to world music and internet,the rise in the popularity of street dancing was waiting to happen,” states Paritosh Parmar,a participant on Street Dance. Parmar along with seven friends formed a street dance group called ‘Underdog Kombat’ three years ago. They learnt the dance forms mostly by watching DVDs. “Later,we did shows around India to popularise the dance form. Through the show,we hope to boost the street dancing trend in India,” he says. Davar too feels that focus on a particular style of dance will help in increasing awareness regarding it. “That will result in more people wanting to experiment with this style.”