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Bollywood Dance Intensive

Bollywood is the name given to the Mumbai-based Hindi-language film industry in India. Bollywood films are usually musicals and most popular for their colorful and vibrant music and dance. Bollywood dance is a combination of classical Indian dance, folk dancing such as Bhangra and also has a western influence of styles such as Jazz, Hip Hop, Latino, and Arabic.

After the success of our Salsa Dance 101 workshop and the requests for a regular session we have been able to create a 4 week Salsa Dance workshop. This is a progressive class and hence continuity is important. Classes start from Thursday July 15th @7:30pm. Limited spots, sign up now.

I remember hearing in our fitness classes, the importance and necessity of working on the core everyday, to become a better dancer.  How having a strong core helps overall with strength and balance. 

Recently, during a movement workshop, which was not specifically a dance class, but mainly a physical theater class, I was not surprised to hear once again the emphasis on the core by the instructor.  An interesting bit was pointed out, he mentioned how it was believed long time ago that the heart was actually where our core is ... that is our abdominal area, because that is where you feel the most.  Well, you do.. think about it ...

..butterflies in the stomach,
..act from your gut,
..feeling sick in the stomach due to nervousness or anxiety..

all these emerge and some you can actually feel in your core, I guess they had a good reason to believe that's where the heart was ... to me this is another reason to realize the power and importance of our core, which seems to contribute to our physical and emotional beings.

When I first started taking classes at Dance Identity , I found that classes are not just sessions where music is played for an hour or so and the students mimic the instructor's steps on counts of 1-2-3-4 and so on...... At Shaira's class, I learnt not just dance but the art of getting trained the right way.

I realized that there is a difference between class levels and the class itself. The levels are important , they make you understand where you are at and how much more you can go on learning and training yourself as a dancer. Within a session of any dance class, there are several stages - the warm-up, learning the technique , learning the routine/(s), and then finally bringing them all together.

The warm-up is the MOST important session. That is where you start to stretch, flex those tight muscles while getting your body and your mind tuned ! Personally, even though I find warm-ups the most difficult part of a class, they have helped me immensely to continue being focused for the reminder of the duration of the class.

Shaira makes it vigorous but definitely with a purpose. Her aim to make you explore how fit your body is and can get through dance , how flexible you can be with regular exercise and work-out. It is something that every dance enthusiast should experience.

Coming to the techniques - they are the rules to bring out a particular routine in a particular form. For eg. if a Jazz routine needs to have a particular look and mood , its the technique that you need to get it right to achieve that !

They help you break down complicated-looking steps into something easily doable. Shaira focuses in helping you understand what you need to do to get those lines sharp, correct and complete! Her techniques are vibrant and refreshing. She , then, packs them into small routines which then magically transform into beautiful moves.

Once you learn about 2-3 routines, its time to assemble them together in a particular sequence.That is when you need to focus on the music. The routines need to look stitched and tailor-made for the song being played. Now is when you need to pay attention to the rhythm , pace and mood of the song and fit the routines for it.

The end result - a lovely dance piece ..where you have learnt the technique, the routine and have put them all together.

Shaira's class is not about memorizing steps and repeating them , it's about taking time to understand , learn and train the dancer in you to different techniques and styles of dance !

Archana Janakiraman

Ever find yourself in a class with dancers of various levels and during the warm up the instructor, who happens to take warm up quiet seriously, walks up to you, brings your shoulders down, fixes your posture, comments on your alignment while turning your foot into a certain position and you are completely lost trying to take it all in.  Yes, it can be overwhelming when you are doing AND absorbing comments on how to improve.  Somewhere in the middle of the class you may feel, "how am I ever gonna remember everything she said, I can't recall half of it".  Here's what I think helps, don't skip the next class, return.  Come back, from experience, I will say the next time you go through the warm ups, your body will recall and you will begin to remember what was being corrected.  It may take perhaps more than one reminder, but if you skip, you will be reinventing the wheel.  People have different ways of registering, some are auditory learners, some must have a visual while others have to do, but I feel with dance it boils down to doing, listen to the counting, learn it, get the instructor to show you, do whatever you can, but in the end you must try it yourself.  Muscle memory, no joke.

Summer camps combining Dance (Hip-Hop, Jazz, Contemporary) & Yoga

Registration closes June 30th, 2010.

DI Dance Camp I - July 12 to 16 – 1 to 4 pm

• For ages 5-12
• Features Dance (Jazz, Hip Hop ) & Yoga
• $225 per child

Summer camps combining Yoga & Dance (Hip-Hop, Jazz & Contemporary)

Dance Identity (www.Danceidentity.com) and Almaden Yoga (www.Almadenyoga.com) present:

ALMADEN’S BEST DANCE CREW!
Dance classes in HIPHOP, JAZZ, CONTEMPOARY for ages 5 to 15

Mondays 3 pm to 4 pm (Ages 5 to 9)

Mondays 4 pm to 5 pm (Ages 10 to 15)

8 classes starting April 19th and endng on June 14th.

$120 for 8 classes

Classes taught by Shaira Bhan (www.shairabhan.com), a long time professional dancer, choreographer and teacher.

All classes held at Almaden Yoga (next to PW Market at Via Valiente & Almaden Expressway)

Classes in Bollywood, Jazz, Hip Hop, contemporary and more. Fitness classes for all age groups. Don't miss out join the party!

Shaira Bhan Tubaah: Have fun while you groove 

Exercise does not have to be boring. It can be fun, exciting and something you want to do and not have to do. Join us as we dance our way to fitness to some of the latest and greatest Bollywood Hits. Learn from the company that's offering classes at Google, Intel, SAP, YMCA, JCC and more.

You know that feeling you get when you are about to begin a fitness class with DI, the feeling of "oh man this class is gonna kill me" well you bet! You sound terrified but you are back for the next lesson, why? Because you know, that you are better than the last lesson in terms of stamina and strength. We work our way through bollywood masala songs, bhangra, salsa, rock n' roll, any music you name that can make you jump, twist and run and you will hear the genre in class and you will watch the sweat drip down and feel you are running out of breath.

Ok - One word ---- A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!!
Sometimes I've got to...run away...I've got to...get away...
Tainted Love!
Love the song and love the choreo we are learning in class right now. Only Shaira can train us to the point where we like contestants from SYTYCD!! We really looked amazing today with our clean, long lines...great job, class! And Shaira, thanks for being an amazing teacher! Thank you thank you thank you...

For all you people who are reading this blog and are not in the class, you should just stop by one day and watch us do our choreo, then you'll know what I'm talking about :)

Exactly a year ago on March 10th 2009 is when Dance Identity had it's first class ever. Tuesday 8-9pm 20 students dancing and singing "Bachna Ae Haseeno". From that day DI has come a long way not only in terms of number of students, classes or locations but as a company we are creating "Artists".

After 2 years of gearing up for motherhood and then experiencing it for the first time, I needed to get back to dance. It was more for my daughter than myself - I was her role model..even if she didn't know it then :). My criteria for a class was something that would be close to my home and something that would not be boring. Well, I was in for a real surprise after I joined Shaira's class..! One class that is not boring? Yeah right. 

From 1 class a week, I went to 2. From 2 classes a week, I went to dancing almost every day, and performing at the PAN IIT Diwali Dhamaka 2009 show! I had never imagined I would do that..That is the magic of Shaira. She inspires and supports. Most importantly, she believes in her students and team. She always told me - if you want to do this, we'll make it happen. Having a full time job and a 1.5 year old did not leave me much time, but it happened. I was there, I felt beautiful, I danced, and my daughter loved the show! After the show, my daughter actually started moving her legs as opposed to just hands, when we "danced" at home.. The most amazing part was that she could actually recognize me in all the performances from a distance :)

What I love about DI is that there is something for everyone. If you just want to unwind, you can do that, though I doubt that after one class, you will not want to do more! If you want grow in different areas, you can do that too! There is so much to learn and so much scope to grow. Bollywood, Contemporary, Jazz, Hip Hop... every class is different. Bodies and souls start moving to the music in a beautiful way given the time..

DI is a family first and then a company, and for many, it's love at first sight :)

Right before moving to the Bay Area I got a call from Ashley Lobo asking me to come and assist him with this new film. My immediate reaction was NO as I had so much to do. All the paperwork, Visa, packing I wasn't leaving for a Holiday I was leaving to take one of the biggest decisions of my life of getting married :) Then he said these two words, "Amitabh Bachchan"....All of a sudden I stopped doing what I was doing and asked the question. "Will I be choreographing the Big B?" The answer, "YES" and within hours I was packing my bags not for the US but to Mumbai!!

The next day we met the 4 new comers in the film. Dhruv, Vaibhav, Siddharth and Shraddha. We started working on the song with them. We had dancers from Russia for this song. A chair routine, puppet sequence and hours of rehearsal and we were half way through the song.

What followed were dance and theatre workshops to get them to really understand and connect with their characters in the film. Roysten Able was doing the theatre workshops while Ashley and I worked on the dance. Roy was the lighting director for the first ever musical/dance theatre production I did in New Delhi called "That's Dancing". So working with familiar people always adds the element of fun to the set.

Greetings.. dance loving people of Earth. We come in peace to spread the joy of dancing.

Come celebrate this Year of the Tiger with us, learn the art of agile dancing. Let your dancing do the roaring for you !

Give it a shot - try out our February Special Workshop featuring Contemporary dance form.

When: Sunday February 22nd @1pm
Where:415 N Mathilda Ave, Sunnyvale, CA, 94085
For more information and to sign up contact us at info@danceidentity.com

"Rrrrrr... (acronym): Refreshing.. Rejuvenating.. Regenerating.. Restoring.. Renewing.. Revitalizing..."