By June McWilliams
June McWilliams, who attended the workshop, writes about her experience.
Dr. Sonal Mazumder, founder and lead choreographer of Dancilla Indian Fusion Dance, recently conducted an incredible Bollywood Fusion Dance Workshop at Commotion Dance Studio in Germantown, MD, supported by SunnySky Productions.
BollyNatyam was the focus of the first BollyFusion workshop. There will be four more workshops, one every month from now through December. What a workshop!
This hour-long workshop was attended by both men and women of all ages and experience levels. Most of us did not know what BollyNatyam was, until attending the workshop.
Mazumder is inspiring, capable of commanding attention and enthusiastically involving amateurs in dancing. Who can resist dancing to the beautiful Indian music and following such an upbeat leader? This is the first time, in this region, she has offered such a diverse BollyFusion workshop. We look forward to what she has planned for the remainder of the workshops.
The workshop was advertised through a number of social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, and Meet Up, so attendees came from all over the Washington, DC, area. The class began with Mazumder welcoming everyone, introducing the dance type, then a brief warm up.
The lesson included basic to intermediate steps from Bharatanatyam. Then the steps were integrated with a recent Bollywood hit “Hauli Hauli.” The fusion of those specific adavus (steps) into the Bollywood fast rhythm was a challenge, but by following Mazumder’s instructions, her explanation of the story and purpose of each step, made the choreography fascinating and fun. She made modifications to suit everyone’s comfort and flexibility, saying, “That the key is to practice not to be perfect.”
The later part of the workshop had a surprise element, which we all loved. Everyone was given a golden waist belt and ghungroos (bells) to wear as props. They really added a lot of fun to the class. We ended the class with high energy, having learned a small piece of the choreography, big smiles, high fives and lots of photos.
Mazumder is a beautiful teacher with a cheerful smile. She made us feel very comfortable while dancing, even though It was a new style to most. Everyone enjoyed it because of the way she carries energy and encouragement in class. I only wish that we had more time. I cannot wait for the future workshops. The experience was truly magical.
What is BollyFusion all about? Come to a class and find out! You will not be sorry that you did!