One of the world’s most popular dance styles is actually something you can learn in Saint John, and now from anywhere online.
Bollywood Dance Studio Inc. co-owners Chayan and Debalina Saha saw an opportunity to introduce Bollywood dance to Saint John when they came to Canada from India in 2016.
“When I came to Canada I was thinking nothing happens like this, even in Atlantic Canada, there is nothing, no one teaches Bollywood dance and Bollywood dance is a very famous dance style everywhere in the world,” said Chayan, who has been a professional Bollywood choreographer and dancer since he was 15. “So I thought it’s a great opportunity for me to spread this, it’s a very exciting and very fun dance style to the local people starting in Saint John.”
They founded the studio in 2018, which they rent on St James Street, and since then the Bollywood dance classes have been very well-received.
The attendees, called friends by Chayan, have come from St. Stephen and Saint Andrews to join the classes. The studio teaches a new dance every week through hands-on instruction.
“It’s also a form of workout, it’s a fun workout session that people attend; I have participants in my classes who are 70, 72 years old,” said Chayan. “It doesn’t need to be anyone with a particular age; it’s for everyone.”
They offer dance classes for children, along with dance workshops, team building activities and private birthday dance parties.
“It’s also gives us the opportunity for our participants to learn the dance and perform on big stages so that’s also a link for us,” said Chayan.
Bollywood Dance Studio Inc. also partners with many local organizations for profit and non-profit events.
They worked together with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Saint John for a team building event, held a Bollywood beach dancing workshop last summer as part of the Summer Welcome Event at Dominion Park, and performed at the launch of the Imperial Theatre’s season last June.
The studio was scheduled to perform at the East Indian Charity Dinner and Auction in the spring, which was cancelled due to COVID-19.
In response to the pandemic, the studio pivoted to holding their dance classes online which was an adjustment for Chayan, who missed the physical connection and interaction. “The most challenging part in the virtual class was I had to be more interactive, I had to wait and see how people are doing because I had twelve people in the screen,” he said.
The studio lost some business due to cancellations, but the virtual classes opened up a new sector and opportunities. Attendees pay per family and friends, spouses and kids can watch and dance along to the session. “People are happy because this didn’t stop, they were still able to enjoy Bollywood dance still from their home,” he said.
Through the virtual sessions the studio could reach a wider audience. “We even got three participants New Jersey who somehow know we exist,” Chayan said, adding that people from Halifax, Fredericton and Moncton have taken part in the online classes.
The studio goes on a break each July and August to give their dance friends time to enjoy the summer and to themselves a break, as Chayan still works full-time.
The studio will be taking its summer break after this Sunday’s virtual lesson and will return in September.
Chayan and Debalina will continue with the virtual dance sessions alongside physically distanced studio classes when the studio reopens in the fall, if there are further COVID-19 improvements.
“I heard from the studio owner that they are marking the studio so I will probably limit the participants from fifteen to ten,” he said. “That way the studio has enough space to accommodate ten people, including me, with more than six feet distancing.”