Dance under the Bollywood umbrella of styles made for good evening’s entertainment at Suncoast. (Review by Shika Budhoo)If you like dance, dance and more dance all under the Bollywood umbrella of styles, then Dance With Me Baby…Again is the show for you.
Unfortunately I was only able to get to the penultimate show of the January 2010 run so there are no further shows unless acclaimed director, producer and choreographer Shivani Kara decides to bring it back to Durban or tour it further around South Africa.
The second instalment of the Dance With Me Baby series ran at the Suncoast Entertainment Centre from January 3 to 10. It was a spectacular display of beautiful lights, costumes, and dancers. The choreography was superbly mastered as dance styles, feeling and atmosphere varied from one dance to the next. The first half - and the first part of the second half - showed this. The music was of great quality and I must say this is one of the best technically-run shows I’ve seen in a while. The music selection, however, did not grab my full attention. Of course, I do watch some Bollywood - but not enough to fully identify with the majority of songs danced to.
Well done to the dancers. This show was two and a half hours long with an innumerable amount of sequences and I did not notice a single dancer go off their routine. The rehearsal process must have been long and rigorous as these dancers did not forget a single move in any particular sequence. The dancers did look a bit tired, though - so smiles and full energy were lacking.
The first half costumes for the female dancers were delightful and graceful - and in the case of male dancers’ costumes, they screamed “Bollywood!” Varshan Sookhun of Lotus Fm has a cameo role on stage dancing opposite Shivani Kara herself. Shivani’s grace and skill as a dancer shone through as she supported Varshan in his daring debut dance experience.
The venue was slightly bigger than their resident Suncoast Zone venue but seating still placed audience members too close together. The marquee outside at the entrance was shabby compared to the inside, but the stage and its effects were spectacular for a tent-venue.
This show is the Bollywood Dance experience to the full: beautiful people, in beautiful costumes, doing beautiful choreography in a full-on extravaganza with brilliant technical production quality. Dance With Me Baby…Again, promises, and delivers all that. - -Shika Budhoo
Posts
