I miss seeing pure dancing in Bollywood: Shiamak Davar

On World Dance Day, National Award-winning choreographer Shiamak Davar said choreography in Bollywood has become more structured, but feels "pure dancing" has been replaced by technology.

"Choreography has definitely become more structured and stylised. 'Dil Toh Pagal Hai' had created a revolution in terms of introducing fit dancers doing synchronised movements. From there on, a trend started and it has moved in a positive direction," Davar told IANS in an email interview from Mumbai.

He added: "But honestly, technology also has a huge role to play in it. The advantage of an editor makes it easier for stars to do one movement at a time with multiple cuts that a seamlessly joined later. Honestly, I find this very boring, I miss seeing pure dancing! When you look back, Helen ji used to dance an entire sequence effortlessly. That is dance; that was natural talent."

He has made Bollywood stalwarts like Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Hollywood stars Kevin Spacey and John Travolta sway to his steps.

Popular for his twinkle toes, the ace choreographer has been instrumental in popularising contemporary jazz and western forms of dance in India.

Davar, who has choreographed dance sequences in films like "Dil To Pagal Hai", "Taal", "Bunty Aur Babli" and "Dhoom 2", feels Indian films are musicals "of sorts and have always been".

"This isn't a new phenomenon. The legends from yesteryears have been natural dancers and it is almost like a pre requisite for our industry. It is not so much about technique than it is about performance and being able to connect to the audiences.

"But yes, most new comers attend professional dance lessons which is very important for them to find confidence and to be able to understand rhythm and movement. From Shahid Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput, Varun Dawan, Sonakshi Sinha and many more came to my classes to train before venturing into acting," said Davar, who is known for his enchanting smile.

At the moment, he is working on "Jagga Jasoos" and his first Marathi movie "Hrudayantar".

--IANS

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