Diwali Dandia and Garba Performance
Thanks to the IGN for inviting me to help out with Diwali 2009 at Google – there were many aspects to the Diwali celebration: IGN made a beautiful display of candles in the shape of temples and stars all over Charlie’s Patio, great food in Charlie’s cafe, and of course, dancing!
We had only 2 weeks to put together a dandia / garba performance. At first we were just going to demonstrate a few interesting dandia patterns, and then teach dandia. But it developed into a whole four song medley and choreography – it’s always hard to “Keep it Simple!” Thank you to Ramya, Sugeeti, and Jatin for helping me find the right music to edit together (and thank you to the group for putting up with my rough draft edits!) Thank you to Sahil for helping remind me to K.I.S.S. whenever possible. =) Also thank you to Jatin, Vandana, Piyush, Sugeeti, and all the dancers who gave great suggestions for the choreography / dandia and garba patterns.
Big thank you to Vandana, Meghna, and Sai for helping organize costumes. The jewelry for the ladies was so much fun! I don’t think I’ve ever had so much volume of jewelry on at the same time!
Bhangra class at Google starts next week!
Since we finished the Bollywood series at Google, I have had *so* many requests for more Bollywood / Bhangra classes on campus.
So I am very happy to say that we will have a special 5 week Bhangra class starting next week, running Wednesdays at noon in the Building 46 gym.
This class will be taught by Googler Rasika Kumar, and is free to all Googlers who wish to attend! Rasika is the one responsible for choreographing this awesome Bhangra routine that was performed at Googlemela in August. She grew up dancing in her mother’s dance studio, as is an experienced dancer, teacher, and choreographer.
I hope everyone will come out to attend her classes, they will be great exercise, lots of fun, and a good chance to learn about Indian culture.
Register at g2gDanceFest online.
GoogleMela – Great photos
So my husband took up photography to keep himself occupied when I dragged him along to ballroom dance competitions (although really I think he prefers to take photos of natural things). And as he got more into the hobby I learned some myself about cameras and lenses and all these sorts of things. Not that I can do much with a camera – I am happy to outsource that to him, but I can now at least recognize high quality equipment.
Which is why I noticed one particular Googler who was taking photos from the sidelines at the GoogleMela show. Of course I bugged him to send me his photos (you can never have too much evidence), and he sent me the link to his blog.
I had never met Omari before, but I knew his stuff would be at least decent because of his equipment. However I was completely wowed when I actually saw his photos – I really like how he captured more than just the dance. He got attitude, interaction between performers, story line, spirit, cool reflections in the building behind us, all kinds of interesting things besides just the dancing. It’s always a treat to see what we do through someone else’s viewpoint.
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Like take this photo of Susan Lin getting ready to do her Mongolian chopstick dance. You get one story line with her intense concentration on getting ready – making sure her shoes are going to be sticky enough (I think she puts sugary Sprite on them to make them not slide!) The photograph puts her as central, and includes her cool looking shadow. But there’s a whole second story line in the window – all the Bollywood Medley dancers in the middle of dancing Aaja Nachle! I feel like you can feel the whole complex of the moment just in this one moment – on stage and off stage both represented.
Thank you Omari!
Google Bollywood Series Success!
Teaching Bollywood at Google was a huge success!
Everyone keeps asking if we are going to have more Bollywood classes – for now all I can say is come to my other classes at Google!
Dance classes are offered every day:
Monday and Wednesday at 7 pm we have Hip Hop dance. These days there is so much hip hop in Bollywood – it almost feels the same! I even use some Hindi remixes in the music I play, so if you liked Bollywood you’ll probably like this class.
Tuesday and Thursday at 4 pm we have Around the World class. This class always features at least one Bollywood or Bhangra. We also do dances from China, Russia, Africa, Ireland, Brazil… everywhere! It’s a great workout and lots of fun.
Fridays at 5 pm we have Zumba, which is cardio latin dance (salsa, samba, cha cha, etc). Start your weekend out right with this healthy dose of exercise, great music, and fun steps. Check the internal groupfitness link for more information.
I was so impressed at the turn out that we had at Bollywood. We had between 50-85 dancers in each class, 230 dancers in all came out to class at some point. Everyone had such great energy it was like a party! It was great to see dancers of all ages, genders, races, etc. coming out to enjoy this little taste of Indian culture.
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We danced to songs from various hit movies, including:
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Twist from Love Aaj Kal
Mauja hi Mauj
Nagada, Nagada
Nach Baliye,
Khwab Dekhe
Latoo
Dance Pe Chance
Love Mera Hit Hit
Desi Girl
Raahe Raahe by Jasi Sidhu (Bhangra)
Dhoom Machale
Dard E Disco
Deewangi Deewangi
It’s hard to believe that we did all that in just 6 classes! That was a lot of
steps that everyone learned.
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A big round of thank yous to my fabulous teaching assistants who came out weeks before the class to learn all the steps. Due to them it was possible for people even in the back of the room to see someone who know what was going on and have a good time participating. Thank you to Katherine, Karina, Minya, Lan, Jatin, Sugeeti, Finnegan, Merry, and Lauren for showing up early, helping with setup, learning all those steps, and helping to make this all possible.
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I would also like to thank the IGN for working with us to throw a little afterparty after every class – you guys are awesome! Of course a big thank you to John Thomas (my contact at the IGN) who helped me week after week to arrange tasty food for everyone. We had samosas, mango lassis, a special tea tasting, Indian sweets – all different things on different weeks! I hope everyone enjoyed the party as much as I did. Also big thank you to Anuj, Neha, Angeli, Vamsi, Amit, and other IGN helpers who came out to help with food and recruiting.
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If you’d like to join the IGN head to go/IGN – they have a neat blog and lots of information on what’s coming up next.
And of course, thank you to GFit that was responsible for this class. I am so glad that the managers at GFit are flexible and enthusiastic about such crazy ideas as having a huge dance class in a Tech Talk room. Thanks to Sue Hutchinson for being so supportive of all the off-the-wall endeavors, and thanks to Sue, Josh, and Newton for helping with set up and check in.
Too bad my most favorite-est AV specialist wasn’t there for all the classes. But thank you to Heraldo for the classes that he could make before he went to Japan. It was so good to have you there to balance the mic and music and video etc. etc.! And a special thank you to Rebecca and Dave and Debra who came completely of their own good nature to move chairs, check people in, help with food setup, and general moral support. You guys are awesome.
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See you all soon in all the other GFit dance classes!
Have thoughts on what else you want to see at Google? Email sueh@google.com
Anna and Ruchita on dress up day – Thank you to Ruchita for arranging costumes for the GoogleMela performance!
Anna with two super teaching assistants – Lan and Minya – go Group Shimmy!
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Anna with the finance team (we’re in the money, the skies are sunny…) Thanks to Anuj for awesome recruiting skillz and to Karina for being a great T.A.!
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.Bollywood dancers, concentrating hard!
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Anna with the Scott, Ruchita, Prachi and Aprajita who were some of the performers at GoogleMela representing the GFit Bollywood Dance Class! They performed Love Mera Hit Hit from Billu Barber and were a grand opening to the show.
Bollywood at Google!
Bollywood has finally come to Google!
Get ready to shake it with our series of 6 classes held in Maxwell Tech Talk in Crittenden 3.
Every Class is free standing – don’t worry if you missed one, you won’t be “behind the class”.
We are working on a video setup / a stage / portable mic / more visible T.A.s so that you will be able to see me (and the T.A.s) better in next week’s class. As well, we will have fans to keep the room cooler!
*Please note the unusual schedule!*
Come Dance and Party with us on:
- 7/13, at 6:00 pm
- 7/23, at 6:00 pm
- 7/30, at 5:30 pm
- 8/5, at 5:30 pm
- 8/12, at 5:30 pm
LOCATION: Maxwell Tech Talk Room, Crittenden 3
Register at go/bollywooddance
Bollywood is a nickname for films from India that contain dazzling musical song and dance numbers. Bollywood dancing is a mixture of traditional Indian folk forms such as Bhangra with contemporary movements from jazz and hip hop. But really – anything goes as long as it’s fun!
We’ll be dancing fun and simple steps to hit songs from recent popular Bollywood movies such as Dostana, Billu Barber, Om Shanti Om, Jab we Met, and others. No dance experience necessary, anyone can do these steps. Please wear comfortable clothes that you can sweat in – and shoes that provide some cushion when you jump (high heels are not recommended). As well, please bring your favorite re-usable water bottle – good for the planet and good for you!
Even better, we will be following each dance class with a party sponsored by IGN (Indus Googler Network). The IGN will keep the music and dancing going, and you can snack on some tasty Indian treats and chat with new friends. If you are available to volunteer with the IGN to help us with set-up, food, etc. for this dance party, please volunteer here.
LOCATION: Maxwell Tech Talk Room, Crittenden 3
WHEN: The dates and times for this class vary widely. We apologize for any confusion this may cause.
Class will be held on:
- 7/13, at 6:00 pm
- 7/23, at 6:00 pm
- 7/30, at 5:30 pm
- 8/5, at 5:30 pm
- 8/12, at 5:30 pm
Party will directly follow each class.
We know the scheduling is non-ideal, but this is what was available given the parameters we’re working under.
COST: The classes and party are free, but for the class dancers must be registered with the GFit group exercise program. If you are not already registered please click here to register.
QUESTIONS? Please email sueh@google.com
EXTRA BONUS! Dancers who participate in the classes will have a chance to perform a Bollywood routine at the International Cultural Event on August 13th! If you’ve been waiting for your chance to Shakalaka Boom Boom, this is it!
Deewangi Deewangi
This is often known as “the Om Shanti Om song” – because its chorus repeats the name of the movie over and over! This is a fun scene in the movie – there are 32 Bollywood stars featured in the song – check it out!
Because the atmosphere is like a fun party, we do lots of fun steps:
and here they are with the music:
Did you know there are four Bollywood classes per week?
Wednesday, 8:30 am at Vivre
Various days, Google (see go/bollywooddance for schedule)
Fridays, 3 pm, Oracle
Fridays, 10 am at Decathlon (every other week)
See you then!
Dhoom Machale Bollywood Videos
The first action thriller to be released by Yash Raj in 19 years… Dhoom Machale was the beginning of a thrilling series…
Don’t forget to check out the original steps to this song – they’re pretty hot!
Here are the steps:
And here are the steps with a little music:
See you in class soon! Now if we could only get pyrotechnics in class to explode on the chorus…
Dance Pe Chance – Bollywood
Hello Bollywood Dancers,
I’m happy to finally have a nice choreography for Dance Pe Chance – it’s such a fun song!
Here are a few of the steps we will be using:
I hope to see you for the Decathlon Club’s new performance class “Dance World Live” – we start next week on Tuesday at 8 pm. It’ll be an awesome Bollywood medley, let me know if you have any questions.
