NFL
By: Ashmere Prasad
South Asian Night has taken place in Chase Center before, but never in Ballhalla until Tuesday night.
Bollywood Dance Central put on a stellar and beautiful performance in front of the sold-out crowd of Valkyries fans. The team owner, Sindhu Karanam, was thrilled when she got the call to have her group perform.
“When the Valkyries called us last summer, this was such a dream come true for us. Being able to do this for the Valkyries specifically was very meaningful.”
Bollywood Dance Central is women-founded and made up of all women dancers. Karanam started BDC in Texas, moved to the Bay Area five years ago, and continued to grow the group in San Francisco.
In true Desi fashion, the team designed their own attire and had their outfits handmade in India. (Is there any other way?)
The group wore different shades of purple ranging from lavender-violet to a deeper purple. One group wore a lengha, which is the traditional skirt outfit. The other two groups wore pants outfits in royal purple and dangling beadwork. The pants were flowy and cuffed at the bottom, similar to the Jasmine style from Aladdin.
The choreography included a wide range of styles. One of the lead choreographers, Ananya Varma, explained, “It was semi-classical, which stems from Indian classical and folk styles, as well as some touches of Western style, street style, such as house and hip-hop. We just fused it all and put it on the court today.”
The studio teaches female dancers of all ages ranging from kids to adults. The studio can also help choreograph dances for major events, like an upcoming wedding 😉
“It’s really amazing that dance does unite everyone and creates community,” co-choreographer Seemani Dash shared. “The Bollywood community is vast and so diverse. It’s amazing to bring everyone together and put some pieces on the stage that we’re really proud of.”
Lead Choreographers:
Seemani Dash
Ananya Verma
Featured choreographers:
Aparna Ramanan
Devina Sen
Mahak Bandi
Nidhi Vedantam
