After sold out productions such as Dance through Bollywood, Rhythm India, Rivers of Emotion and Live Love Bollywood, the Bollywood dance troupe, Taare, are now presents their fifth offering, Bollywood Enchanted – a dance interpretation of a timeless fairytale, set to take place from Friday August 3 to Sunday August 5 at Artscape Theatre.
Bollywood Enchanted plays host to several dance styles within the Indian dance genre, from Indian classical and folk dance styles to popular modern Bollywood dance. The production will also see creative collaborations with ballroom and Latin, contemporary, belly dance, and hip-hop, from dance companies Latin Fever, Dance For All, Dance Descendants and Graham’s Academy of Dance, respectively.
In keeping with Taare’s vision to use dance as a medium to break cultural barriers, these collaborations will see two different styles at a time perform side by side.
Taare was founded by Ahneesh Valodia in 2012 to promote and preserve the Indian arts through the use of Bollywood song and dance. The troupe provides a professional platform for aspiring dancers to pursue their passion. Taare’s dancers range from school-goers to university students to young working professionals, who have come together with one common vision of embracing and sharing Indian dance.
Said Ahneesh:With special attention to detailed, elaborate costumes and props, Bollywood Enchanted is a truly visual spectacle, filled with something for everyone. Costumes are by far one of the most challenging aspects of a Bollywood show – sourcing the appropriate components in large quantities while still maintaining authenticity of the different dance genres. However, we are proud that Bollywood Enchanted will host an array of detailed costumes that have been custom-made to specifically suit each dance style and scene included in the production. I would like to encourage everyone to come join the Taare dancers, alongside guest artists as they bring to life the fabled themes of hope, love, and resilience while staying true to all that is Bollywood: rhythm, colour, and vibrancy.”
Ahneesh began dancing at the age of eight, and has never looked back since. However, after being diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy, a degenerative muscular disorder, Ahneesh’s career as a performer was curtailed. At age of 21, he founded Taare as way of pursuing dance through choreography while creating a platform for dancers to pursue their passion for Bollywood dance and performance.
Self-taught in Bollywood dance and trained in the Kathak style of Indian classical dance, with exposure to several other dance styles in his journey, Ahneesh aims to amalgamate these styles to produce fresh work that reflects the diversity and vibrancy of the Bollywood dance genre.
Tickets for the show cost from R130 to R150. The shows on Friday and Saturday are at 7.30pm and the Sunday show is at 3pm. For more information contact Ahneesh on 083 700 6111 or visit www.taare.co.za. Book through Computicket.
