It was her passion for dance and penchant for learning every genre of it that compelled lauren Gottlieb to make India her second home. Before taking her seat as one of the judges in the forthcoming season of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, she told Shrabasti Mallik that she is on the lookout for a dancer who shows exceptional dedication
In the year 2007, lauren Gottlieb was grooving her way to the last six of the US dance show, So You Think You Can Dance. At the same time in India, choreographer Remo D'Souza was looking for a female dancer for his movie Any Body Can Dance. He chanced upon an episode of the American dance show and it took him minutes to zero in on Gottlieb. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Not only did she make a mark with her moves in the movie but she also took Bollywood by storm when she continued dancing on the IIFA stage for over a minute even after the music stopped. She also won hearts as a contestant in the sixth season of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. And now, two years down the line, she is back again in the show — not as a contestant, but as a judge. “It has been a long journey and I guess my efforts have paid off. I would call this a natural progress,” she laughed.
Gottlieb will be sharing the judges table with some of the who’s who of the industry, like Ganesh Hegde, Karan Johar and Shahid Kapoor. But it takes a lot more than that to intimidate this girl. She does not mind being the only female judge in the show, let alone being the youngest. “It all depends on the talent, age does not matter here,” she said. One might think that she will be more lenient than the boys but Gottlieb quickly corrected, “When it comes to dance I am very professional. I do not encourage or allow anyone to take it lightly.”
When we asked her who she thinks will be the black horse of this season, she promptly replied, Mohit Malik. What amazes her about Mohit is the fact that inspite of his hectic TV shooting schedule, he hits two different dance studios to rehearse. “He rehearses with the JDJ choreographers and then goes to another studio just to practice. That is the level of dedication that I believe in and what I will be looking forward to in the show,” she added.
She attributes all her fame and success to dance. She took her first dance lesson when she was just seven, before eventually moving to los Angeles, from Arizona, to pursue her passion. Gottlieb’s skills paved the way to feature in videos with stars like Mariah Carey and Britney Spears. Not just that, she also trained Tom Cruise. “It still feels unbelievable,” she said. Alongside, she also auditioned for SYTYCD and got selected.
It was on Remo’s insistence that she came to India. “ABCD did not have stars, so the focus was completely on the dance sequences. Honestly, I did not even get noticed before JDJ. But I am glad everything worked out for the best,” she said. Being in India was like being on the other side of the world for her. She was so fascinated with the culture and dance traditions of this country that she wanted to learn everything. “Here I was in a new country with absolute no idea of the language, culture or the people. But I wanted to learn the graceful Indian dance forms and I have been taking regular lessons,” she said.
So will we be seeing some desi dance moves soonIJ “Well, for that you will have to wait and watch,” she signed off with a wink.
She is looking forward to more Bollywood projects but she will opt for movies which will give her an opportunity to explore romantic roles.