Amritsar celebrates World Dance Day; folk heritage gets a fillip

Neha Saini

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 28

This year began with a great achievement for Amritsar as the city registered its name in the Guinness Book of World Records by dancing for a cause. Creating an unbeatable record with 9,000 students synchronising moves to Bollywood tracks, the event also highlighted the city’s growing awareness for dancing, and not just traditional or folk but contemporary global forms.

Going places with their talent, some of the choreographers and dancers have already been featured in international platforms. And there is more promise in the future. “Amritsar has realised the potential of dancing, not just as a leisure activity or fitness regimen, but as a profession. We get parents now, who want their children to learn global dance forms, more competitive and contemporary,” says Pankaj Vig, the choreographer behind the world-record feat.

Thanks to several dance-reality shows in television that have furthered the cause of the young , aspiring dancers to successfully pursue professional dancing, the grooming starts early. “We have five-year-olds coming to us to learn dancing because parents want their children to become a choreographer. This is a welcome change because a few years ago, thinking of dancing as a career, not an alternative one, would not have been a great idea,” says Pankaj.

Meanwhile, promoting a bit of folk and traditional heritage through dancing, Virsa Vihar, too, organised a two-day dance festival. Over 10 schools and colleges participating along with dance academies, the festival saw colourful, energetic performances of bhangra, giddha, sammi and some exclusive contemporary performances.

“It’s another way to celebrate our virsa, our heritage that reflects through our dance forms. Dancing has been the most common and popular way of celebrating life, whether it’s festivals or weddings or reaping our crops. Punjab has a rich tradition of dance forms that speaks about its lifestyle and culture. So, encouraging youngsters to express through dance forms is a way of keeping them connected to their roots,” said Kewal Dhaliwal, president, Virsa Vihar Society.

The participating teams included Shri Guru Teg Bahadur College, Holy Heart Presidency School, Ajanta Public School, Avaas dance academy and Step 95 academy. Young dancer Sahil Sharma gave an impressive performance in the contemporary genre.