PRAKRITI ROY catches up with two contestants who have made their way to the Top 6 on Dance+ to know more about their dance forms and their inspiring journeys
‘Nepal doesn’t have scope for dance’
SUSHANT KHATRI
Dancing is a dream for many. But unlike many, there are only a few who really go after their dream. A good way for a dancer to realise his dream is by participating in a reality show. And what better than a show like Dance+, which places emphasis on the particular style of the dancer and does not ask for versatility.
Twenty-two year-old Sushant Khatri from Nepal is one such person. Through his dancing prowess, he has already made it to the top six of Dance+. The lyrical Hip-Hopper has been staying in India for the past three and a half years, his sole purpose of staying away from home being dance.
“I wanted to make a career in dancing. So I relocated to Gujarat. There I learnt Indian dance forms like Garba and Bollywood, as India is all about Bollywood. Before coming here, my only source of learning was YouTube. I’ve learnt all my basics from social media,” Khatri tells you.
To make a career in dance, Khatri says that Nepal is not a great place as there is no scope. The only dancing activities there, especially for those who do Hip-Hop, are the underground battles. “My speciality used to be underground battles. I auditioned for the first season of the show as well, but did not get selected. Then, I went back home and for one year, I worked on perfecting my style and prepared for this season. Before coming on the show, I won the competition called FEEl, the first dance battle for lyrical Hip-Hop in India,” says Khatri.
For Khatri, the show is the hardest competition he has ever participated in. “There is a huge difference between performing on stage and performing spontaneously in a battle. It’s on a different level. Plus, there is choreography to be adhered to,” he explains.
Although western styles are becoming more and more popular today, the traditionalists still frown over street styles like Hip-Hop etc. Moreover, dancers who excel in these styles often sport very eccentric and different looks, and Khatri is no exception. But he doesn’t care what people say about him: “I don’t depend on others, I make myself. People keep saying things like my hair is too long, or that it’s coloured. I really don’t pay attention to them.”
Khatri, who has already won thousands of hearts with his unique style of lyrical Hip-Hop, says that he is not here to become a star but to be a legend. “A star is remembered only while he remains in the limelight. A legend makes place in people’s hearts and they never forget him. I want lyrical Hip-Hop to be known as Sushant Khatri’s style,” he asserts. For him, Remo D’souza is a legend and performing in front of him is a different experience altogether.
Things did not come easy for Khatri as he had to struggle for a long while to learn dance with lack of support from his parents. However, he says that that they are now extremely proud of him and support him fully. “I started B-Boying in school and stopped paying attention to my studies. My family used to say that I can’t live with them if I dance. I used to perform with a crew while working as a waiter. Finally, I realised, kuch paane ke liye kuch khona padta hai. So I came to India,” Khatri tells you.
A blushing Khatri says that in Bollywood, the only person he would like to choreograph is Shraddha Kapoor.
He is now one of the favourites for the title in the show.
‘Hometown Jammu is unable to vote for me’
Piyush bhagat
Piyush Bhagat is just fresh out of school, but he dreams beyond his years. While other people his age are worried about making the university cut-offs, Bhagat is on a mission. The eighteen-year-old tells you that although his dance style is Hip-Hop, he is on Dance+ with a new style that not many have heard of.
“I am introducing a style called Ghetto. Hip-Hop is a wide culture and has many elements like B-Boying, lyrical Hip-Hop, Robotics etc. Ghetto is a fairly new style, defined by particular moves and the way they are performed. As the name suggests, the style originated in the ghettos of the US and is mainly performed by African-Americans,” Bhagat says.
like many others from smaller cities, Bhagat relied upon YouTube to learn Hip-Hop and also to keep a track on what’s happening on the world dance scene. He noticed that Ghetto was something that made scanty appearances and videos showing this dance style were hard to come by. “I started looking for Ghetto videos more and more often. And after about one-and-a-half years, I saw that there are Ghetto battles taking place. But it is still mainly in the underground,” he says.
Bhagat’s purpose of introducing Ghetto in India was to speed up the process. “I knew that eventually it would find its way here, maybe in another 10 years or so. But if people see me doing it, they will get curious about it and start learning it,” he tells you.
Coming from a family of doctors and engineers, a career in dance was not really an option for Bhagat. However, once he joined a class, there was no stopping him. Hrithik Roshan and Shahid Kapoor became his idols and he used to copy them. He recollects the day when Michael Jackson passed away. “It was all over the news and I had no clue who Michael Jackson was! My dad told me about him. I feel quite sad that I got to know of him only after he passed away. But I started watching his videos and perfected his dance style,” Bhagat tells you.
Before Dance+, he also participated in other shows like Boogie Woogie and Chak Dhoom Dhoom. However, he tells you that even though he reached the finale of the latter in 2010, mobile lines were closed due to terror-related issues.
“I probably didn’t get any votes from my hometown. But I was happy to have come second. After that, even my family started supporting me,” he tells you.
The problem of the phone lines being closed down is still present. But this time, Bhagat is a lot more confident of his dance. He says: “last time, I came second without the J&K votes. I think I can pull it off this time. After all, the lines are shut for our safety.”
For his first performance on Dance+, Bhagat performed a Ghetto routine on the song Pinga. The appreciation he got gave him confidence in his style and choreography. He has now quickly ascended to the top six. “My journey so far has been full of ups and downs. It is also a great learning experience,” he says.
Bhagat doesn’t want to stop at Hip-Hop. He wants to learn other forms too, like one of the Indian classical dance forms, as he feels that exploring is an important aspect of a dancer’s career.
