This is one note that needs no introduction. For all our well wishers
and potential students out there, here is a compiled list of what you
can learn and practice while at Tip Tap Toe. After all this is 'Where
The Arts Come Alive', eh?
All Under One Roof - At Tip Tap Toe
Latin Ballroom (Includes Salsa, Cha Cha, Jive & other forms)
BollyKids (Summer specials and classes through the year for our kiddie friends)
Bollywood Dhamaka (For our young and dynamic age group of 16 – 34)
Bollywood Jhatka (Exclusively for our lady friends – 35+)
Belly Dance (Exclusively for women – Age no bar)
Martial Arts (Get kickin – men & women)
B Boying (Perfect those moves with our in-house instructors)
Zumba Atomic (Another special for our kiddie friends)
Zumba (Latin-inspired Dance Party that helps you keep fit)
Yoga (For all those who are morning people and have embraced our age old form of meditation, breathing and exercising)
Bharatanatyam (One of the most popular Indian classical forms)
Ages back, a scared and nervous me entered a dance studio for the first time. It was my first dance class; and my first time learning anything Latin. As I stood on the wooden floor, staring hard at myself in the mirror, I willed my nerves to calm down; but apparently it wasn't working.
After having read what you just read, I won't be surprised if you
think that I had never danced before this day. Truth of the matter was that I'd been in love with the stage ever since I was about 6 years old. However,
this sort of dancing was outside my comfort zone. Up until then, a
Madhuri or Karisma song had suited me fine for my jhatkas-matkas and my
nakhras.
I'd signed up for the Latin Ballroom class
because I was ready to push myself and go outside my comfort zone; or so
it had seemed before my nerves had taken over. I had no clue how
(badly) this was going to go.
That's when he walked in;
the man who was going to change my life. Bosco Fernandes, at first
glance, is a man full of life. He is funny and smart. When you actually
get down to knowing him you'll realize that he is exactly all of that -
funny, smart and bursting with life.
Bosco announced
that we'd be beginning our session with a class on merengue. For all the
Latin dance impaired people out there (and for all those willing to learn),
here's how Wikipedia describes merengue -
Merengue is a style of dominican music and dance. Partners hold each other in a closed position.
The leader holds the follower's waist with the leader's right hand,
while holding the follower's right hand with the leader's left hand at
the follower's eye level. Partners bend their knees slightly left and
right, thus making the hips
move left and right. The hips of the leader and follower move in the
same direction throughout the song. Partners may walk sideways or circle
each other, in small steps. They can switch to an open position
and do separate turns without letting go each other's hands or
momentarily releasing one hand. During these turns they may twist and
tie their handhold into intricate pretzels. Other choreographies are possible.
One
session later, I found myself walking back to the railway station with a
bounce in my step.There was something about merengue that had me
smitten. I was in love with one of the most basic forms of Latin dancing
that there ever was. It seemed silly and juvenile; but I was in love.
Months
after my first session with Bosco, Ryan (my classmate from college) and
I went on to win a trophy in the merengue competition organized by the
studio.
Years later, as I stand at the threshold of beginning my own
dance school, I am reminded of how I began my first steps into the world
of competitive dancing and technical training. The memories are enough
to get me all teary eyed. Nostalgia sure is a powerful tool.
As usual, I shall leave all my readers with a little something. Here's one of my favorite merengue tracks -
(To learn merengue and other Latin Ballroom forms, contact us on tiptaptoemumbai@gmail.com)
Boy, am I am excited or am I excited!!! Finally, there is good news coming along my way.
Tip Tap Toe may just have found its home.
For everyone who has been asking me where Tip Tap Toe is going to be housed, the answer is Mulund West. This is going to be our first center (and if all goes well, we shall have many more branches to come).
For years now, people around the globe have pictured couples
dancing in one classic closed pose - the woman's left hand in a man's right
hand, her right hand on the man's shoulder and the his right hand placed on her
back. However, that wasn't always the case. The earliest forms of formal
dancing involved choreographed steps being performed by couples who were
allowed only minimum physical contact; perhaps in the form of holding hands. A
dance that went beyond holding hands had not existed until then.
So then which was the first ever dance-form to be done in
the classic closed pose with a man and woman facing each other? It was the
Viennese Waltz. When the Viennese Waltz first got accepted as a legitimate
dance form in the 1830s, it was a craze all across Europe. Slowly, but
steadily, its popularity grew and took over the globe.
Never seen the Viennese Waltz being performed? Fear not, for Tip Tap Toe is here. Here's a video that should solve the problem.
(If you'd like to learn the Viennese Waltz, get in touch with us at tiptaptoemumbai@gmail.com)
In a country that has produced
some fine dancers; the likes of Pandit Birju Maharaj (Kathak), Sitara Devi
(Kathak), Yamini Krishnamurthy (Bharatanatyam), Shiamak Davar (Jazz &
Contemporary), Uday Shankar (Indian Ballet), Saroj Khan (Bollywood); it is
quite surprising that we haven’t churned out any serious dance films.
Choreographer/Director Remo D'Souza
The West seems to have utilized
their talent much better than we have. I guess that’s exactly what
Choreographer/Director Remo D’Souza had in mind when he decided to announce his
next project – ABCD. The movie ABCD, which stands for ‘Any Body Can Dance’ is
being touted as not only India’s first serious dance movie, but also our first
3D dance movie.
ABCD the Movie - First Look
News of the movie has only hit
the press recently. Insiders say that Remo has been fiercely guarding the title
and his mystery female lead until now. I remember seeing a tweet from
UTVfilms some time at the end of February. I also came across an article that
was written on January 10th, which stated that the movie will have a
Hollywood dancer/actress. On that occasion, Remo said that he’d like to keep
her identity under wraps. However, that clearly seems to be a thing of the
past.
The article that appeared in
today’s TOI had a poster of the upcoming movie attached with it. The poster
gives away our mystery lady’s identity. She’s none other than So You Think You Can Dance contestant
Lauren Gottlieb.
Lauren Gottlieb of So You Think You Can Dance fame
Prabhu Deva
As for the identities of the
other dancing stars; the movie is said to have Ganesh Acharya and Prabhu Deva
in very important roles. It is also nice to see that Remo hasn’t forgotten some
of his protégés from the show Dance India
Dance where he is one of the judges; for contestants from the show –
Dharmesh, Prince, Salman, Mayuresh and Vrushali – have also made the final cut.
Remo seems to be overly excited
about the project; and why not. He finally gets to direct Prabhu Deva in a
dance movie; something that he says he’s dreamt about for a long time. The
music composer duo of Sachin-Jigar, who gave the music for Remo’s directorial
debut F.A.L.T.U. have also been retained for the movie.
The movie, say UTV officials
(producers of the film), should release by the end of the year. Now I guess all
we have to do is wait and watch; and while we’re waiting, here is a classic
Prabhu Deva track. It is one of my favorites.
When they
remade Footloose in 2011, I knew the worst had come. The original cult movie
starring Kevin Bacon and Lori Singer was an absolute hit among youngsters (and
some part of the older generation too).
One of the major
factors that played a role in the success of this uber-cool film (you could
quote me on this one) is the music that was absolutely in keeping with the
times. Although the original movie came out in 1984, tracks like Footloose, and Dancing in the Sheets still remain favorites among teeny-boppers
(and the older ones too, I confess).
While I
thought the worst had come when they remade Footloose in 2011 (reference to
line one of this blog post); I guess I was sadly mistaken. The worst is yet to
come; and ‘yet’ seems to be coming in the summer of 2013. I just read reports
about how they’re planning to ‘REMAKE’ yet another cult movie. This time around
the movie chosen breaks my heart, because the original was one of my all-time
favorites. They’ve apparently chosen to rip apart ‘Dirty Dancing’.
Dirty Dancing
(1987) is a movie that brought with it a certain amount of freshness, innocence
and spunk. Although the movie is as old as I am, I never tire of watching it.
Patrick Swayze, who played the role of Johnny Castle, was an absolute delight
to watch. Some of the scenes (like their first love making scene) will leave
you wanting more of him. Jennifer Gray did a fabulous job of being ‘Baby’, the naive
rich girl who is unlike most other patrons at the holiday camp. It is at this
very holiday camp that Baby meets Castle, the dance instructor; and as movies
will have it, they fall in love.
With Patrick
Swayze no longer among us and Jennifer Gray happy with her Dancing with the Star stints, who will play the iconic Johnny and
Baby couple this time around?
Although there
are no official reports about who’ll be joining the cast of the Dirty Dancing
Remake, if insiders are to be believed; Derek Hough should step into the shoes
of Patrick Swayze to play Johnny Castle. His female lead might go to Lea
Michele.
Lea Michele & Derek Hough
Personally, I
can’t imagine Lea Michele doing justice to the role. I would have to loved to
see Julianne Hough play the role of Baby (and so would many others, as per
blog posts that I have read so far).
Jennifer Gray (l) as Baby in Dirty Dancing and Julianna Hough (r)
The only
reason (make that one of the reasons) why I am skeptical about the remake is because we’ve seen some rather
crappy iconic-movie-remakes. They somehow manage to ruin all of them.
Whether or
not they’ll do a good job of making Dirty Dancing 2013 is something that only
time will tell. (If other Hollywood movies are to be believed, the world might
end in 2012. That way we’d never have to endure the tortures of this movie,
just like we’ve had to sit through previous remakes.)
For now, I’ll
leave with you the best dance sequence of the movie (and a classic song as
well) – I’ve Had The Time of my Life (OST – Dirty Dancing 1987).
