Many young dancers from Odisha have excelled in dance reality shows, both in solo and group events. However, getting trained in dance is a costly affair these days as a result of which many talented dancers do not get enough opportunities to showcase their talent.
Choreographer and dancer Suryan Rath from Puri, who has won many laurels in dance shows on TV, recently organised workshops in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to train youngsters in dance. Called the Dance Intensive Education (DIE), the project enlisted renowned dance mentors such as Nimble Funk, Ankan Sen, Sahil Khan, Ibrahim Badshah and A Nainika to teach the 130-odd students/dancers from Odisha and other states who participated. He had planned to conduct the training for free but later decided to collect a nominal sum for the programme. Sunday POST talked to Suryan and other dance mentors of project DIE.
“My aim is to do something for the artistes of Odisha and especially for the dance community,” said Suryan, who has performed in Fukrey 2. Now based in Mumbai, he was a finalist in ETV’s One Two Cha Cha Cha (2007) and Tarang channel’s Dance Challenge. He was a semifinalist in Tarang TV’s Dhoom Machale (2011) and runner-up in Colors Odia’s Dancing Star (2015). Earlier, in 2013, he had appeared in Best of Odisha on Tarang TV and Dance Dhamaal (ETV). He was a mentor on MBC TV’s Tara Rum Pum in 2014.
On the national platform, Suryan made it to the top 24 bracket in Dance+ of Star Plus (2015) and entered the top 50 of So You Think You Can Dance of &TV (2016). He has worked with renowned choreographer Terence Lewis in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, India’s first English musical. He also worked with Bertwin D’Souza for Gandhi – The Musical. Besides, the dance maestro has been a judge of inter-school and inter-college dance competitions in Assam, Mumbai, Pune, Ranchi and Odisha. He has acted in Odia film Ajatsatru and choreographed a few songs for To Premare Padila Pare.
Suryan said, “There are many Odia dancers who are unable to go and learn improved dance techniques in other states due to financial issues. Learning dance is costly in Odisha too. I know because I have struggled a lot to get proper training in dance. Hence, I decided to start a project where deserving budding dancers could learn from nationally and internationally reputed choreographers.”
Organised by Suryan Rath Dance Academy (SRDA), project DIE was held from June 8 to June 11, 2018 in the twin city. Participants included aspiring dancers from Odisha, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
Nimble Funk, a renowned choreographer, dancer and dance mentor, was one of the trainers. Based in Mumbai, he is the chief educator at Big Dance Centre, Dancework and Electric Boogaloo in Mumbai. He is among the top contestants in the dance reality show Dance Deewane aired on Colours channel.
Funk said, “Before coming here, I did not have much of an idea about the dancers of Odisha and their aptitude. Yes, I have seen Odias win national dance contests but I was still sceptical. However, right from the introductory session, I enjoyed the teaching experience. I appreciate Suryan’s effort to train every deserving dancer without caring about monetary returns.”
Ankan Sen, winner of dance reality show Just Dance aired on Star Plus, was also part of the team of trainers. Mesmerised by his performances, judges of Just Dance, Hrithik Roshan, Vaibhavi Merchant and Farah Khan, nicknamed Ankan the ‘Wonder Boy.’ Asked about his experience in Odisha, Ankan said, “I was completely impressed after visiting Odisha. There are many talented dancers here. You should take the benefit of the wide experience of dancers like Suryan who has started the initiative and made the project successful. We have come here to teach so that there will be many more good dancers like Suryan.”
Another trainer in the project was Ibrahim Badshah. He is a Krump (style) specialist and faculty at the Big Dance Center, Mumbai. Renowned choreographer Sahil Khan was also part of the project. He was a contestant of So You Think You Can Dance Season 1 and is an associate of Bosco Caesar Dance Company, Mumbai. Odisha’s A Nainika, who was a finalist in Dance India Dance Season 6, also guided the students.
Suryan summed up the project: “It was a hectic schedule of six hours a day with training in new school hip-hop, Krump, flying low, electric boogaloos, urban contemporary and dance hall choreography. I am happy that the project was successful and I am now planning for the second edition, project DIE 2. I want to organise it on a bigger scale.”
HIMANSHU GURU, OP