Gyrate,bend wiggle and roll..Dance craze in India

All over the country, once-inhibited Indians are snapping their fingers and tapping their toes as they sway to the beat. Salsa, tango, rap and hip-hop — international dance forms have become household names and an increasingly large number of people want to learn them, thanks to a flood of dance reality shows on TV.

These shows also give budding dancers a springboard to the glamorous world of showbiz. While it all started with Boogie Woogie in 1995 on Sony TV, the small screen now has a long list of dance reality shows — Jhalak Dikhla Ja, Dance India Dance (DID), Chak Dhoom Dhoom and Nachle Ve.

Choreographer Rajeev Surthi, who has made stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra among others dance to his tunes, is a product of a dance reality show himself and says these shows indeed help aspiring dancers.

Surthi, who participated in the first season of reality show Nach Baliye, said recently that people want to see hardcore dance today and dance shows are exposing them to just that.

It was after Nach Baliye that Farhan Akhtar offered Surthi the chance to choreograph Shah Rukh's Ganpati song in Don. Farhan was one of the judges on the show.

Bollywood beckons these dancers, as popular talent hunts provide them entry to the glamorous world of films. Salman Khan, the winner of the first season of Dance India Dance, got an opportunity to shake a leg with superstar Salman Khan in the film Wanted while another winner, Shakti Mohan danced in the Farah Khan-directed Tees Maar Khan.

Choreographer Pony Verma, who judged the first season of children's dance reality show Chak Dhoom Dhoom, was of the opinion that dance has now become a household name, with people taking a keen interest in learning different dance forms.

Crew members noticed to their surprise during the auditions of the new season of Chak Dhoom Dhoom, that a group of older women had arrived to demonstrate their talent.

For 45-year-old homemaker Vandana Sinha, who considered herself a non-dancer, the show Nachle Ve helped her learn dance steps at home. "For people of our age it is difficult to go out and learn dance. But, with a show like Nachle Ve, one can learn dance at home. The way Saroj Khan teaches each step, one can easily pick up and perform," she said.

"I have learned so many steps that I can show off at a party or marriage," Vandana went on.

Sony's Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, the Indian version of internationally popular Dancing With The Stars, has celebrities from different fields performing diverse dance forms.

First aired in 2006, the show is now in its fourth season and has dancing divas Madhuri Dixit and Malaika Arora Khan, and choreographer Remo D'Souza judging the show.