When they say “the show must go on,” few expect to experience it quite like this dance group did, and now the internet can’t stop applauding them for it.
A now-viral video captures a stunning moment from a stage performance by The Nartikas, a dance group featuring students from the Auckland School of Bollywood. The group was in the middle of a performance, dancing to the energetic track ‘Ishq Shava’ from the 2012 Shah Rukh Khan starrer film Jab Tak Hai Jaan, when a technical glitch abruptly cut the music.
But instead of freezing or walking offstage, the dancers did something remarkable, they kept going. With no music and no cue, they carried on performing their routine with full energy and expression. Their grace under pressure drew instant cheers, claps, and whistles from the crowd. And in a heartwarming show of solidarity, the audience even began singing the song to help them through the rest of the number.
The clip was shared on Instagram with a caption that summed it up perfectly:
“During our Ishq Shava sequence the speaker turned off right in the middle of the song due to a technical issue. What happened next will be remembered in history for a very long time. Witness this goated moment and watch the audience help us with the song. You just can’t script moments like this.”
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The moment has since racked up over a lakh views on Instagram, with comments pouring in from moved viewers. One user said, “So proud!! True definition of the ‘the show must go on’.” Another noted, “I watched this in silence the first time and couldn’t even tell anything went wrong. Total pros!”
Someone else wrote, “This was the test — and you all nailed it with courage, presence of mind, and professionalism.” And a fourth comment simply read, “Why do I have goosebumps?”
Coincidentally, this display of dedication follows another extraordinary milestone in the world of dance. Remona Evette Pereira, a final-year BA student at St Aloysius (Deemed to be University) in Mangaluru, recently etched her name in the Golden Book of World Records with a jaw-dropping 170-hour Bharatanatyam performance.