I see my victory in Shakti's victory,says Jai

I see my victory in Shakti's victory, says Jai Kumar Nair.

DID season one contestant Jai Kumar Nair, who reached the bottom four but couldnt win the golden hat will be seen in DID little masters as a choreographer. He will be training the little ones who are the possible future dancing stars of India. Jai will live his dream through them and therefore he is all geared up to set the stage on fire. He was kind enough to remove the time for danceismylife.com and speak to us about his experience in the journey of dance till date. All the DID mentors are very busy working hard for their children.

1) How was your experience in DID?
Jai: My experience in DID was very very good. DID season 1 was completely new for all of us. When I first went for the competition, I had no idea as to how this competition was going to be. We had no idea this competition would be so tough and would reach to such a great level. The competition was very difficult but the experience was very beautiful. We learnt so much. I was in Terence ki Toli. I learnt a lot there. I never felt that I would not be able to do something, because I gave my best all the time. There was no room for relaxation and mediocrity. I think it was the best experience in my entire life and I sincerely wish that I witness such experiences in my journey, as it make life more beautiful.

2) What role are you playing in DID little masters?
Jai: I am playing the role of a mentor in DID Little Masters. We are known as "Skippers". There are 4 mentors (Mayuresh- Vrushali, Dharmesh, Amrita and Jai) and each mentor has 4 kids in their group. We are playing the masters role like how you have seen Terence, Geeta and Remo in DID. However we are not sitting on the panel as judges. We are only choreographing and competing with each other. My group will be presenting my choreography on stage. So, it's a very big responsibility on me now. When I was a contestant, I always thought about what Terence Sir might be going through when we presented his choreography; I guess today that's exactly what I am going through. The feeling is, how my kids will perform and I hope that they do justice to my choreography and I am so sure that my kids will do compete justice because I have got the best kids in my team. So I think I am very lucky and happy to have them.

3) Can you tell us about your dance academy?
Jai: The name of my institute is Jai Kumar Dance Institute. Currently, I am running classes at 3 centres - Andheri (W), Sion (E) and Santacruz (E). I have started these classes 2 months back and I am teaching Bollywood, Jazz, Hip-hop, Contemporary, Salsa dance styles. I hope that the institute picks up well and we have more and more centers coming up. I am keeping my fingers crossed and I hope everything goes well.

4) How do you define Bollywood dance?
Jai: If I have to define Bollywood dance then I would give an example of Mithunda, Govinda, because these stars are the ones who present the real Bollywood style with lots of jhatkas and latkas. Its a different style altogether. But today when we see Bollywood, we have a mixture of Freestyle, Jazz, Funk in it. So, when we mix all these together, the final product is Bollwood or rather a filmy dance style. So there is no specific definition of Bollywood style, but if you still ask me then I would relate the dance style to Govindaji, because he is a mind-blowing Bollywood dancer and of course Mithunda as well.

5) What is the highlight of DID Little Masters that people should look forward to?
Jai: We had Mithunda, Terence Sir, Remo Sir and Geeta Ma in both the seasons of DID. But now, for DID Little Masters we have Farah Khan ? so I would say that she is the highlight for DID Little Masters because I think she is the biggest choreographer in the industry right now. And of course, we have Sandip Sopparkar Sir as well, who is the biggest star of Latin Ballroom dance style. He is a brilliant choreographer and teacher and I am sure we will learn a lot from him as well. Also, we have Dharmesh Sir, Mayuresh, Vrushali and Amrita with me and we have become Sirs and Madams now. We are all working very hard and taking a lot of efforts on this show. Our kids are also working very hard. They are very very talented. Our performances are going to be full of energy and you will be really shocked when you see these kids perform because they perform like the teenagers. They are mind-blowing performers.

6) Tell us something about your contestants.
Jai: I have 4 kids in my team and one on standby. I think they are all very fabulous dancers and performers. We had the liberty to make a choice of kids and I am so happy and I feel very lucky that I have got the best students in my team. I am so sure they are gonna rock ? we are gonna rock. I am very very happy.

7) What do you have to say about Shakti?
Jai: Shakti is a mind-blowing performer and a very versatile dancer. I tried my level best to present something new each time in season 1 and I always wanted a versatile dancer to win. Whatever happened in season 1 is a past, never mind, but when Shakti won Season 2, I was very very happy. Because she is a versatile dancer and she has showcased so many different styles, I really wanted her to win. I had performed with Shakti in one of the episodes of DID and I was really hoping that she wins. So I feel as if I have won. She is a mind-blowing performer.

8) Why do you think your team is better than the other teams?
Jai: I don't want to say that my team is better than every other team, I would just say that they are very hardworking and I just have to prove that they are the best. They are my rockstars and I am sure we will rock. We will try our best and I am sure we will stand out. I sincerely hope that everyone loves my kids and people vote for them once the voting starts. So please, keep watching DID Little Masters ? my kids rock.

9) Which is your favorite dance style?
Jai: My favorite dance style is Hip-hop, Contemporary and Jazz. When I started learning dance, I started with Contemporary and that was my style 6 yrs back. But when I left that dance company I saw everyone doing only Hip-hop and I was a zero in Hip-hop. I didn't know anything about Hip-hop. So I went online, studied in detail about Hip-hop and I started learning Hip-hop by watching videos. In fact, I have not taken any formal training in Hip-hop and today people say that my style is Hip-hop whereas I am more trained in'Contemporary and Jazz, but I have really worked hard in Hip-hop to imbibed that style in myself. So, I can say that these are my favorite styles. Hip-hop just suits today's generation which has a lot of Yo-attitude in it. Contemporary is more about postures, body alignment, body structure. It's a different dance form altogether. Again, in Jazz one needs to have good straight body posture, one needs to pay a lot of attention to body lines, need to take care of every small detail. So all these dance styles are very different from each other. These 3 styles are my strengths and I will be showing these 3 styles and many other styles through my kids on the DID Little Masters show.

10) Message to other dancers.
Jai: My message to other dancers is that whenever you dance, don't think who's watching you. Just let yourself be free and dance from your heart, because the moment you think who's watching you dance and you feel shy, you will never be able to dance. Just think you are the best and keep dancing. I would also advise that please join a dance school to learn dance, because it will surely change your life. One thinks that he is very good at a particular style and can do that style, but when you join dance school / company you will learn a lot. Dance is not just about steps, its much more than that. So please join a dance school. If you are passionate about dancing then you will definitely go a long way and become brilliant dancers. My kids have actually defeated me, they are truly the Dance ke Baap. When I watch them dance, I always think what I was when I was their age and to be very honest I was nothing that time. I started dancing when I was 12 ? 13 yrs old. But these kids are simply awesome at their age. So please join some dance company and I am sure it will help you a lot and you will rock. So, Keep Dancing!!!
---- As told to Devesh Mirchandani.