monalisa patsani, post news network, Bhubaneswar, May 8: Is the land of Odissi going the hip hop way? At least, if the current level of interest in various dance forms – traditional and modern – among the city’s youths is taken into account, it would not be surprising if one puts the question to a dance trainer, especially those who teach western dance and music.
Locking and popping is gaining huge popularity among youths, especially the girls in the city, who now-a-days do not want to be confined to classical or other traditional dance forms. “Majority of the students who enrolled for the workshop are girls. I think the mindset of the parents have changed a lot, as now they don’t confine their daughters to a particular form of dance; rather they allow them to learn different dance forms,” said Harihar Dash, the finalist of the India’s Got Talent 2010 show, and dance mentor and choreographer.
He is, at present, conducting a three-day dance workshop, organised by the Divine Dance and Music Academy. The workshop is held with an aim to identifying young talents in the field of western dance and teaching them the basics of the dance forms locking and popping. The workshop began on Thursday.
“The workshop is a kind of introductory class to the dance styles where the students are taught the basics of the dance and if they are interested, then they can learn it, in all its minute details, in the future,” said Dash.
Around 60 students have enrolled for the workshop and are very happy to learn the dance forms.
“The objective behind organising the workshop, especially on locking and popping, is to identify the young talents in the field of the western dance and to teach them all the basics of these dance forms, so that they can acquire the required expertise to become a national or an international level dancing celebrity in the future. The dance forms have gained huge popularity among youngsters and the dance reality shows are the big factor for their increasing popularity,” reiterated Dash.
Speaking about his journey after IGT, Dash said, “IGT was a turning point in my life, as after that I got lots of opportunities in India and abroad. IGT made me famous for locking and popping, but I also know other dance styles. The reality shows on television are big platforms for people like us to showcase our talent and I encourage everyone to participate in such shows.”
Trishna Agarwal, a 10-year-old Class VI student of the Sai International School said, “I love dancing; I just can’t control my body whenever I hear any music; … I just start dancing. Here, in the workshop we are learning locking and popping and I am really enjoying it. It is a unique dance style which involves lots of body movement. I am happy that I got an opportunity to learn locking and popping.”
Manswani Pattnaik, a Class VII student of the DAV Public School, Chandrasekharpur, has similar views. “I have been learning dance in the academy for the past few years. There they teach us all forms of dance. Locking and popping are popular dance forms and in Orissa, these are gaining popularity. Many young girls are coming up to learn these dance forms and their parents are also supporting them. Though I love Bollywood and contemporary dance more than the other forms of dance, yet as a dancer, I feel, we should love all forms of dance,” she said.
Another student of the DAV Public School, Chandrasekharpur, Preeti Pragyan Das said, “I have started learning dance at the age of two and my parents are very supportive. They didn’t force me to learn any particular dance form; rather they encouraged me to learn all styles of dance. I like locking and popping and other modern dance forms. I basically like the hand and leg movements in these dance forms and also the music on which these have to be performed.”
Debasis Sahoo, who became a household name after his performance on the Star Plus’s India’s Dancing Superstar show, is also attending the workshop. “Most of the young students have seen these dance forms only in television reality shows or in movies; a workshop, especially for locking and popping, is a great initiative. Such workshop will help many aspiring dancers, who want to learn the dance forms. I used to do contemporary and other dance forms, but recently I have started learning locking and popping from Harihar sir and I am really enjoying it.”
Speaking about his association with dance Debasis said, “I was a very chubby boy; so to lose weight, especially around my waist, I started to learn dancing. Initially, it was to decrease my weight but gradually I started developing an interest in dance.” Debasis, who had recently appeared for the 10th Board examination and has secured very good marks said that though he wanted to become a professional dancer yet he understood the value and necessity of formal education.
