Inside the dance studio at Youforia Danscool, a group of 15 young women dances to Shakira and Rihanna. Next follows MJ’s Dangerous and they storm the air with speedy peppy movements. They put their feet up briefly before getting back on the floor and this time it is Dangaa Maari . “It’s amazing to dance to such varied music in quick successions. It helps your body change to different moves,” says Nageena Rajpurohit, the dance master. Over the past few years, a number of swanky dance studios have mushroomed in the upscale pockets of Anna Nagar, K.K.Nagar and Bypass Road.
Gone are the days when dance only meant Bharatnatyam. The town’s young are lapping up dance as a fitness activity, like never before. Contemporary and street styles of dance have become the newly found passion and the ‘cool and fun’ gym for many college goers, young professionals and new mothers. While some pursue it as a hobby, many do it to stay in shape. “It’s a real cool way to keep oneself fit. Instead of hitting a gym and working out with machines, I find dance as a more intimate way to deal with your body and shape or tone it as you like,” says Rangita, 28, a home-maker, who has been a regular to dance classes for the past two years. Varsha Guna, 36, a trained classical dancer says that a session of dance relieves her of the day’s stress. “I feel refreshed and energetic after dancing. It somehow makes me feel much younger and good about myself.”
“A couple of years back, I took up Zumba for fitness. We do with minimal weights in hand and it helped me in strengthening and conditioning my body. Zumba is popular among women post maternity, as it’s a light form of dance aerobics,” informs Madhu Anand, a house wife. Today, Hip-hop, Salsa, B-boying or breaking have all become as popular among both men and women. Praveena, a 33-year-old entrepreneur who can shift to any dance form with ease, says that she loves the variety that the activity offers. “Dance involves little of that drama that adds zing to the otherwise boring fitness modules. Sometimes, we get innovative and incorporate moves of kathak or folk dance into our sessions,” she says. “Dance gives a creative outlet to our monotonous lives.”
Rajesh of Dance world, Anna Nagar, has gone a step further to introduce dance as a wholesome fitness regime. He has designed a five-month dance-fitness syllabus in tie-up with tutors from the US and offers certificate courses in Hip-hop, breaking style, jazz, salsa and ballad with classic western. “The modules are designed to meet various fitness needs of people. Like for instance, Hip-hop has five levels in which the dancer is trained to achieve higher levels of muscle strength and toning,” says Rajesh who tutors around 300 men and women in batches everyday. “Dance is a consistent process and it has a positive effect on both your body and mind. It also helps in personality development as people shed inhibitions and become more expressive, make new friends and find a social life.”
Apart from dance-aerobics, filmy stunts and freeze styles are a hit among those who aspire to enter dance reality shows. Rajesh who is a former participant of Ungalil Yaar Adutha Prabhudeva on Vijay TV, says that sophisticated dance styles such as Salsa and Jazz are pursued by people aiming for reality shows. “Young people also take up short courses of Salsa to be danced at weddings and parties. Even in the Baraat these days, western dance is performed along with Bhangra or Bollywood styles,” says Karishma Rajaani of Innovatiions Danzz Studio. “Mix-dance or freestyle is absolute fun as it is open for experiment. One can even invent steps and add to the sequence.”
B-boying style has got a separate following among young city men. Kumar, a 22-year-old collegian, who performs at various culturals and shows around the town, says that he enjoys the fascination and admiration the dance fetches him. “I want to become a famous B-boying dancer in future.” Muthu, 23, a professional B-boying dancer says that the robotic movement of the dance inspired him to pursue it. “To be honest, I took up B-boying to impress my girlfriend,” he laughs. “Later, when I got a hang of the style, I totally loved doing it. It’s difficult to master B-boying as it involves hopping or dancing upside down. It’s a dance form that’s fast catching up the fancy of fitness freaks.”
So, the next time you are bored to gym, better hit the dance floor for some fun-filled workout.
