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Coming to a gym near you: Bollywood
It is widely considered to be the biggest film industry in the world - and it could be coming to a gym near you soon.
Bollywood is the Indian film industry that puts Hollywood in the shade with more than 1,000 movies produced every year. Millions across the world love the drama, fantasy and color of Bollywood, as well as the hallmark of many productions: their elaborate song-and-dance routines.
And it is the dance routines which are beginning to appear in gyms and fitness centers across the globe, including in Prague.
"It's great for your health, coordination and relaxation," says Vendula Kučerová Uhýrková, founder of Garam Masala Bollywood dance group. "It's also fun. Dance is natural movement and I think some people come because it is not strictly an aerobics class; they want something more original and more fun."
Uhýrková and her colleagues teach Bollywood dance to all levels, from beginners up, and also perform at events across Prague and the rest of the country.
She says the stories behind the dances make the classes more interesting for dancers.
"We try to make each class different, in a different style and also with a different story. The basis is the story. There are two sides - the dance steps and also the story," she says.
Often, telling the story involves the distinctive hand and finger poses (known as hasta mudras in Indian classical dance) even novices will recognize. Copying them, however, is slightly more difficult - but can be very good for circulation.
Uhýrková was originally a folk dancer, but she began Indian dance in Prague under the tutelage of Ujwal M. Bhole, a master of traditional dance from India who had been journeying across the globe teaching the classical style Bharatanatyam since the 1990s. In 2007, she traveled to India to Bhole's home to study further.
While Bollywood takes much of its heritage from styles like Bharatanatyam and Kathak, it also has a distinctly modern flavor.
"After the 19th century, when India opened to the world, other styles came, like salsa, hip hop, R&B and Spanish ... It's that influence and the mix which is Bollywood," says Uhýrková.
She believes Bollywood dancing will only get more popular as the films themselves continue to thrill audiences around the world.
"Bollywood films are more and more popular; more people know about it and watch the films. And the classes are a different way to get fit," she says.
SOURCE : Coming to a gym near you: Bollywood - Health & Wellness - Magazine - The Prague Post
BOLLYWOOD DANCE
Classes: Garam Masala teaches Bollywood classes Monday-Thursday, including one for children
Beginners: 7 p.m. on Mondays at Studio R Plus, Vinohradská 73,
Cost: First lesson is a free trial, classes otherwise are 100 Kč for 60 minutes.
Web: Bollywood-dance.net.
Other Indian/Bollywood dance classes in Prague: Centrum Tance on Wenceslas Square, Bharatanatyam.cz, Indian Embassy and other studios Rasabihari.com and Kathak.wz.cz
It is widely considered to be the biggest film industry in the world - and it could be coming to a gym near you soon.
Bollywood is the Indian film industry that puts Hollywood in the shade with more than 1,000 movies produced every year. Millions across the world love the drama, fantasy and color of Bollywood, as well as the hallmark of many productions: their elaborate song-and-dance routines.
And it is the dance routines which are beginning to appear in gyms and fitness centers across the globe, including in Prague.
"It's great for your health, coordination and relaxation," says Vendula Kučerová Uhýrková, founder of Garam Masala Bollywood dance group. "It's also fun. Dance is natural movement and I think some people come because it is not strictly an aerobics class; they want something more original and more fun."
Uhýrková and her colleagues teach Bollywood dance to all levels, from beginners up, and also perform at events across Prague and the rest of the country.
She says the stories behind the dances make the classes more interesting for dancers.
"We try to make each class different, in a different style and also with a different story. The basis is the story. There are two sides - the dance steps and also the story," she says.
Often, telling the story involves the distinctive hand and finger poses (known as hasta mudras in Indian classical dance) even novices will recognize. Copying them, however, is slightly more difficult - but can be very good for circulation.
Uhýrková was originally a folk dancer, but she began Indian dance in Prague under the tutelage of Ujwal M. Bhole, a master of traditional dance from India who had been journeying across the globe teaching the classical style Bharatanatyam since the 1990s. In 2007, she traveled to India to Bhole's home to study further.
While Bollywood takes much of its heritage from styles like Bharatanatyam and Kathak, it also has a distinctly modern flavor.
"After the 19th century, when India opened to the world, other styles came, like salsa, hip hop, R&B and Spanish ... It's that influence and the mix which is Bollywood," says Uhýrková.
She believes Bollywood dancing will only get more popular as the films themselves continue to thrill audiences around the world.
"Bollywood films are more and more popular; more people know about it and watch the films. And the classes are a different way to get fit," she says.
SOURCE : Coming to a gym near you: Bollywood - Health & Wellness - Magazine - The Prague Post
BOLLYWOOD DANCE
Classes: Garam Masala teaches Bollywood classes Monday-Thursday, including one for children
Beginners: 7 p.m. on Mondays at Studio R Plus, Vinohradská 73,
Cost: First lesson is a free trial, classes otherwise are 100 Kč for 60 minutes.
Web: Bollywood-dance.net.
Other Indian/Bollywood dance classes in Prague: Centrum Tance on Wenceslas Square, Bharatanatyam.cz, Indian Embassy and other studios Rasabihari.com and Kathak.wz.cz
