Step by step

Another group’s meeting just to chill in a cottage across the road. Here, 26-year-old Deepak Rawat aka Tiger, a Los Angeles-based star dancer swinging between Bollywood and Hollywood, loves doing zero gravity leaps. Tiger has at least four pierced body parts.

The group rushes off for nariyal paani on the beach and to practise some. These are the people who rub shoulders with the Shah Rukhs, Aamirs and Aishwaryas. “When Amitabh Bachchan or Hrithik Roshan look up to your dancing with respect, it feels good. When Aishwarya Rai sends you a New Year group SMS, you hit a new high that your number’s on her cellphone,” breathes an ecstatic Kapur, 29, who’s choreographed the videos Made in India, Dole Dole, Piya Tu, Colonial Cousins and every Daler Mehndi video you can think of. She’s now excited about her trip to Thailand where she’ll play choreographer to Dino Morea and Tanisha in Shhhhh.

What’s in a name? Everything. If you’re a dance choreographer you’ll probably have a name like Lollipop, Longi or Pappu Malu. Kapur (she danced with Javed Jaffrey before becoming dance director Farah Khan’s assistant) sounds more mundane. While Lollipop (remember Aati kya Khandala?) is one of Bollywood’s ace choreographers, Longi (Longines Fernandes), once Khan’s assistant, is now choreographer of successful films like Khushi, Satta and Kucch to Hai. Ansar Ali, choreographer, dancer, teacher swings intoaction on shows with Mehnaaz or Shaan for MTV/Channel V.

While freelancer Tiger has studied in the School of Ballet in Los Angeles, it’s de riguer for a dancer to study anything but. So, if you want to be a lawyer, consider studying at Law School, but if you’re swinging into Bollywood dancer mode, do anything but learn dance. And yes, a professional would most probably be from one of these Mumbai colleges — Mithibai, Rizvi, Dalmia and St Xaviers (all these notch up the most dancers) and would have signed up for anything — arts, science, commerce but ensured they didn’t attend class. “Getting into every show in college and winning awards was what set us off — the glamour, the excitement grips you for life,” says Longi. The money’s clearly what makes you take the big leap forward — a college dance show wins you accolades. And at Rs 2,000 a show it’s every overnight college hero’s dream, confesses Munish Kotian who works with a group under Pappu Malu, the choreographer duo that set the sparks flying when they worked with 160 dancers in Devdas.

Back to the beach. Face to face with Longi’s group. Mehul Gadani, 24, wears the cutest blue and silver grey baggies casually paired with a loose orange jacket, necklace in place, hair sticking out in spikes. His 20-year-old brother Himanshu Gadani sports ditto in blue. The only girl in the group, Rakhee Shivsagar (she’s just 19), rocks in a skimpy top and bright blue eye shadow. Ready to sway at a moment’s notice, she has studied XII standard but not dance.

KC College was Kapur’s dancing ground, though commerce was her subject, she’s reached so far because “I was hardly in college.” So do you become an assistant choreographer straightaway? “To work in this industry, you have to start at the lowest rung. You’d be foolish if you thought you could become a choreographer without being a dancer first.”

An assistant gets Rs 3,000 a day for movies and around Rs 10,000 for a show. “The dancing looks phenomenal when you put in 100 per cent knowing you’re a good dancer, and that explains the success of Hrithik or Shah Rukh,” Kapur says proudly that the latter keeps recommending her name.

At the Pappu Malu rehearsal today, Shanaaz Bhiwandiwalla, 26, a Mithibai graduate, stops breathless, to talk about how her life began with a stint at Citibank. “Bollywood themes are changing, storylines are changing, so are costumes, but not producers’ old attitude towards group dancers,” says she, alleging cavalier treatment on the sets, “It’s like an old movie being made again and again.” Upto Rs 3,000 a day for film shootings and upto Rs 15,000 a night for stage shows and Rs 5,000 plus $25 per day on all expenses paid tours abroad, is how the cash rings.

While to perform in Bollywood one has to get an ID (cost: around one lakh rupees) from the CDA (Cine Dancers Association), it’s much easier to be on a roll in shows. And no, the money is not refundable. Ali, a commerce graduate from Somaiya College says the lifestyle reflects a dancer’s credentials, “Doing shows in college I used to be hip in rag jeans. But now I wear smart casuals. Twenty-six is the age when you start thinking of something else, like running a dance academy.” Making plans is important as touching 30 or putting on weight, whichever happens earlier, is a dancer’s swan song.

Savvy Mehul who has made enough money to buy a flat in Santacruz, feels it’s important to be where the action is — Juhu. There are other prerequisites — like a good body. “Producers like to see good physiques on film, so I really workout,” says Tiger. After all, producers now look for fit, good looking dancers who can also act in small roles”. Dancing is not the only fun. Playing cricket with stars like Salman on outdoor shoots or mixing with group dancers on a flight to spend a month or two at shows abroad.

Kotian, who worked for Thompson and Onida before swerving back to his college love — dancing, says, “When these companies kept chucking me out after every six months, I gave up on the 9-5 thing,” adding, “We have no holidays, no festivals, no time for girlfriends, even marriage is difficult, (the first thing a girl says is give up dancing, holding other girls!) but right now we’re happy, we’ll be going to the US for a Baisakhi show, stay with the best stars, the best of hotels, the best of food…”, he breaks off matching steps with the others all the time looking warily into the wall length mirror for awkward movements, to the sound that sweeps over you again at Satyam Hall, Aap to aap hai, aap ki kya baat hai!