When dancing feet move, they are possessed by the character they portray when onstage. To be able to express and make a flawless delivery of the borne emotions, a dancer is said to have mastered the art of dancing. When the performance speaks to the audience, the performance becomes art. We bring you 4 such dance pieces that not only speak to the viewer, but also are a clear reflection of the talent of the performer, and the flawless execution that you’d not want to miss out!

Starting off with Naina Batra; the talented performer self-choreographed and performed this dance piece on the song ‘Mehboob Mere’. For a song that is bold in terms of expression, it required equally bold performance to match. Naina not only choreographed awe-inspiring dance moves but also performed them with equal boldness which is reflected through her expressions in the cover. The trio dance to the beats of the song with dripping confidence that serves as a highlight to the performance. The combination of the flawless execution of the choreography by the Lehanga donned trio, the aesthetically pleasing set and the perfect camerawork makes the cover a must-watch!

Up next we have another self-choreographed performance by Kartik Raja, featuring Akash Thapa. The dance cover of ‘Abhi Kuch Dino se’ is fun to watch with the clean and swift execution of the moves and the great editing of the video. The dancers not only have synced moves but also wear on-point facial expressions that serve as an expression element besides the dance moves. The overall cover is short yet wouldn’t fail to bring a smile to your face. Check it out here:

‘Chura ke dil mera’ is a classic, upon listening to which, no feet can resist movement. Neerav Bavlecha and the team have choreographed the song and it’s a sight to behold. With an aesthetically pleasing set and great coordination between the dancer duo, the cover came out smoothly. The cover features Srishty Rode in a gorgeous lehenga, dancing beside her partner. Overall, the cover is a beautiful watch and deserves more hype. Check it out here!

At the end, Arpit, in collaboration with Vijetha has choreographed and covered the Akshay Kumar classic and we absolutely love it! The cool funky vibe that the entire cover gives off makes you want to replay it over and over. The perfect synchronization between the two dancers makes the video a worthy sight. The white aesthetics gives the video a fresh, cool feeling to it which you definitely don’t want to miss out. Check it out here:

They are here to mesmerise you with their movements and leave you gaping at how beautifully they execute them. These women piece together semi-classical dance performances that are flawless in all aspects possible. From expressions to aesthetics, professional skills, and artistry, they give their all to the choreographies and own them. So, get ready to be charmed by these awe-inspiring performances! 

Mahima Khanum’s performance of Odissi dance is actually her practice routine, but in no way would one find that believable. Because her skills, steps, and execution are so on point that it leaves you captivated and wanting for more. While the video shot in Venice offers a beautiful background, Mahima’s amazing moves of the classical dance and attire are the worthy highlight of the whole video.

Shreewarna Rawat, a trained Kathak artist, renders a performance to the title track of Mahabharta. The choreography is set to the words of the song, while her movements and expression let the story come alive. With her body language and the routine being powerful and spot-on, Shreewarna delivers the piece with perfection. 

Saandra Salim’s Bharatanatyam choreography is set to Amit Trivedi’s song, ‘Namo Namo Ji Shankara’. More striking than her smooth execution of the dance routine are the expressions that she accompanies them with. The whole performance, even with the technicalities of the steps, is done with an air of effortlessness. It is magnificent to watch Saandra perform, from the start till the end. 

Shades of Kathak presents a performance by Vaidehi Lachheta, Nandini Goyal, and Uditi Singhal on Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s ‘O Re Piya’. It is a very pretty, creative, and awe-striking deliverance. The trio moves to the song beautifully, with their synchronization, costumes, location, and overall graceful movements making it a delight to watch!

Dance performances, when executed with perfection, enrapture the viewer with all the emotions and feelings of the dancer, who manages to depict them with only movements and expressions. We bring to you covers that do exactly that and more! These performances are a perfect blend of talent and passion with the dancers’ excellent execution of graceful, technical-yet-fun choreographies.

Tejas Dhoke & Ishpreet Dang 

Ishpreet and Tejas give a perfect modern touch to the 2000s-famed Bollywood song, ‘Chunari Chunari’ in their freestyle choreography. Adding to it a touch of their own unique style and delivering it with boatloads of energy and expression, their rendition of the song is as fun to watch as it must have been to perform! 

Jainil Mehta

Jainil Mehta in this performance makes A R Rahman’s beautiful song ‘Arziyan’ come alive. The semi-classical choreography is brilliantly performed, coupled with the perfect costume and lovely backgrounds. The technicality of the steps is simplified in their effortless execution by Jainil in the video. It oozes with elegance and fits the song flawlessly in all measures! 

Team Naach 

This pretty little dance cover by Team Naach is on Dhvani Bhanushali’s ‘Nayan’. The trio looks stunning as they dance, perfectly synchronised to the catchy and fun beats of the song. All their movements and expressions are clad in a graceful style that hallmarks the cover as a very pleasing performance. 

Natya Social 

Vinayak Ghoshal and Chinmay Khedekar reach for a goal beyond dance in this sitting-choreography on Alka Yagnik and Arijit Singh’s ‘Agar Tum Saath Ho’. Beautifully conceptualised and delivered, they capture the rhythm of the lovely song by the movements of their hands and the expressions of their faces. A feat in itself, it is meant to be a very moving performance!

Her movements are fluid and her smile ecstatic. Dance, obvious as it is, is something that she truly enjoys. However, none of it has come easy. Ishpreet Dang’s story is one of perseverance in the face of tremendous challenges. What’s more, she has met these challenges with the same grace and determination that she exudes in her beautiful performances. 

Born in Sangamner, Dang explains that she comes from a very orthodox family. Even so, she found a strong support system in her parents, who encouraged her to pursue her passion for dance as a child. As she grew a little older, her grandparents did put forward their objections towards her continuing to pursue dance. However, Dang recalls that her parents, her mother especially, were incredibly supportive of her continuing to pursue what she loved doing.

Before she went on to establish Dancefit, alongside Tejas Dhoke, Dang had already established herself in the corporate world. However, that life was, for the lack of a better phrase, a little too mechanical for her. She would earn, pay her rent and life would just go on. Everything was a little too routine, too restricted. Dang worked in the corporate field for over 4 years and during that period, all she could think about was whether this was the life she had actually envisioned for herself. Somewhere, deep down, she knew that this wasn’t something she wanted to do for the rest of her life. When she did decide to quit her job, she did so with an immense sense of relief. As she explains, it was as if a weight had been lifted off her.

But the whole story of Dancefit goes back further than this. When she had just started working, Dang, along with a friend, had gone to attend a dance class. By then, it had been six years since she had stopped dancing. It was in that class that she met Tejas Dhoke, who, in fact, was teaching that class. Reminiscing about that first class after years, Dang recalls how she struggled, after years of not dancing, to even move during the session. Within a week of that class, Dang realized that she had lost touch with her passion. As she states, it took her nearly four years to get back to dancing to the same standard that she had been earlier. And, while that initial class was not the catalyst to the birth of Dancefit, it was instrumental in reacquainting Dang with her one true passion: Dance. 

Nearly three years after that, Dhoke had moved back to Nasik from Pune. Dang got in touch with him and the pair of them decided to start something on their own. It wasn’t a concrete idea by then. More so, it was something that would shape up to be what it is today. Initially, after quitting her job, Dang just wanted to do something related to her passion. When she approached Dhoke, she laid her idea down. She would go on to hold Zumba classes while Dhoke would instruct others in dance. It was a solid idea and presented an opportunity for them both to do something that they loved. Soon enough, an opportunity presented itself in the form of a gym approaching Dang to hold Zumba classes on their premises. They met with the management and agreed on a partnership and that laid the foundation for Dancefit.

While the initial response was tremendously positive, Dang states that the journey, to making Dancefit what it is today, did not come without its own set of challenges. From personal issues, financial struggles to navigating societal perceptions, the two of them, Dang and Dhoke, had to deal with a myriad set of problems. Now, however, Dancefit stands as something unique amongst its peers in the industry. Not only is the academy inculcating a positive atmosphere where hurdles in learning the art form are not seen as something detrimental but also pushing towards a direction that promotes physical health through dance.

That specific idea, of pushing towards learning the art form while conditioning your own body to meet the rigorous demands of the art form, is something that comes from Dang’s own experience. When she began to dive back into dance, she had to overcome her own challenges in terms of keeping up with the art form. Thus, when she sees her students grappling with the same set of challenges, she relays to them what she learnt through her own experiences. It is never about getting better in a day. Improvement and perfection will come over time. All it takes is the will to persevere through it as she, herself, had done.

Even so, Dang does not restrict herself to the idea of not being acquainted with the subtleties in the differing forms of dance. When choreographing a set, paramount importance must be given to ‘feeling’ the song, capturing the atmosphere that the music is trying to convey. From Bhangra to improv, everything comes with the idea that a song must be felt before it is conveyed through dance. That philosophy has worked out well for Dang, with her videos racking up millions of views, quite literally, on YouTube.

I am glad she brought up the subject of YouTube and social media platforms, because for someone in her position, there is always a general curiosity that comes her way from her audience. What is interesting to note is the way Dang navigates this. For her, constructive criticism is always welcome. After all, an artist is always on the journey of perfecting their craft. However, the occasional unfounded negative response does come her way. And when it does, Dang deals with it the way she has dealt with pretty much everything in her life, with dignity and self-respect. Through her words, you sense an individual who has not only given her time to understanding her own self but also not forgotten the importance of mutual respect.

This same idea, of mutual respect, is something that she emphasizes when she talks about the cultural relevance of dance. With numerous forms of dance existing, it is important, Dang states, that due respect must be given to a form that is different from the one you practice. That respect comes from the need to acquaint yourself with the branching forms that dance, as an art, can take. Essentially, an artist cannot afford to lose the importance of what any other medium, channel or form can offer. That perspective seems apt to come from her. Ishpreet Dang’s world, after all, is built on the back of understanding and pushing one’s self further than one could have ever imagined.

Dancing is a form of art – expression art. And expressing yourself through your body movements isn’t only possible when met with the beats of music; dancing and spoken word goes well together too, really well. Expression through dancing can also be achieved when combined with the rhythm and pace of the words spoken. We bring you three dance pieces from some talented performers who beautifully mine gorgeous moves from dark corners of our minds and allow us an escape.

Bharatnatyam is one of the most expressive dance forms; with its tiniest detailed technique for performing, it is one of the dance forms that go really well with spoken word. Although Performing Bharatnatyam on spoken word is going beyond the traditionally set boundaries for the dance form; Isha Parupudi and Sophia Salingaros take their craft beyond the boundaries and perform this piece so beautifully. With the help of abhinaya the two dancers beautifully paint a picture of the struggles of a person dealing with depression or poor mental health.

Kathak is another traditional dance form that carries its beauty within the details of the performance and the swift coordination of the different parts of the performers’ body. The word ‘Kathak’ literally means ‘Story’ hence the performers often weave a story within their performance.

With the stigma that surrounds mental health, many struggling with it do not dare open up as it can be really overwhelming. Every weight is bearable when shared; hence normalizing conversation around mental health is so important. Anindita Neogy moves her feet for people struggling with their mental health alone and through her performance urges them to open up.

Normalizing conversation surrounding mental health also include opening up about our own struggles, assuring others struggling that they are not alone and their struggles are valid. ‘A Brighter Place’ is such a step by 5 Indian artists who use their craft to express and share their own struggles with mental health the lockdown of previous year brought them. Performed by Harsha Maheshwari, Priya V Kumar, Nenita Praveen, Preeti Bharadwaj and music composed and performed by Tao Issaro, the piece is beautifully put together. Raw expressions of self-struggles, the artists have done a commendable job. Each story is different in its own form yet they fit together to form ‘A Brighter Place’ like puzzle pieces.