Article: Dance while the music's playing

The quarter-final of Sony's popular reality dance show Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa were held last week between four couples, one of whom gets eliminated tonight. Who will it be? Mahesh Manjrekar, who moved viewers and the judges almost to tears with his adaptation of the waltz to Sonia Jaffer's choreography that had a little bit of Black and some of Raj Kapoor's Joker? Mona Singh, whose popularity as Jassi and the dexterity of her choreographer Toby carried her further than what her otherwise sweet face would normally have? Shveta Salve, who was all sinuous grace and sex appeal, despite her choreographer, the nimble-footed Longinus, cutting a portly figure by her side? Or Ajay Jadeja, who has reached this far more on his cricket popularity than dancing ability because ours is a cricket-crazy nation? Time will tell.
Meanwhile, the four participating choreographers are sceptical of what the outcome of last week's performances will be. "Those who usually do not vote for us, have voted for us this time," said Sonia, adding that she and Manjrekar had a good chance. "The three couples who survive this time's elimination, all have a good chance to win," added Sonia.
Talking about Mona's and his chances of winning, choreographer Toby said it all depended on the audience votes. "Mahesh and Shveta are very technical in their approach to the performance. Since everybody has his or her own strong points and dancing skills, it is quite difficult to say who will win. I sure hope it is us, though."
Longinus, however, was not confident about winning. "I have a gut feeling that it surely is not going to be Shveta and me who will win the competition. I may be able to win the hearts of the judges, but I am not confident about winning the hearts of the audiences. My main aim is to be a part of the final," said Longinus.
Whereas Jadeja's choreographer Rhea Krishnatraye wished that she had more time to train him. "All the celebrities have worked very hard to dance well. But I think that the winner should be either Shweta or Mona, as this winning will add a chip to their careers. Mahesh and Ajay are already settled career-wise," said Rhea. The elimination round will take place tonight between 10 and 11 on Sony.
Before one couple gets knocked off in Jhalak Dikla Jaa tonight, the AFTERNOON sought the four choreographers out and got them to describe life and times outside the fast lane. There's Sonia Jaffer (with Mahesh Manjrekar), Rhea Krishnatraye (with Ajay Jadeja), Longinus (with Shveta Salve) and Toby (with Mona Singh). This is their story:
Sonia Jaffer Sonia Jaffer started dancing 13 years back. Talking about dancing, Sonia
said, "I love dancing. I have always wanted to be a dancer and I am living
my dream."
Sonia has trained in Latin American, Salsa and modern contemporary dances. She has also done live performances at the Broadway for Andrew Lloyd Webber, one of the greatest musical theatres in the world. Her work experience included working for the Kamasutra musical and the MTV concert for the cricket World Cup. "Even though I have been trained in other dance forms, Bollywood dancing is not difficult. Staying in Mumbai, Bollywood dancing comes naturally," said Sonia.
Choreographing Mahesh Manjrekar, Sonia said, has been an awesome experience. "He is a great dancer. You can see him on screen and make out that he has an amazing talent for making a performance entertaining," said Sonia, adding that she first teaches her partner the bare steps that go along with the dance number. "And then we work around how to make these steps entertaining and powerful enough to leave a mark," said Sonia.
This choreographer is busy with stage shows. "And choreographing stage shows is quite different from what I have doing in Jhalak. In stage shows, I work with trained dancers, who know the basic steps. There is a lot of physical activity involved. However, in this show, I have to concentrate on everything, from the posture to the hand movements. Here there is more mental activity involved," explained Sonia, planning to go on a break to Goa after the contest, without phones or any communications to Mumbai. "I want it to be a peaceful holiday," said Sonia.
According to Sonia, to be a good dancer all one needs is a love for dancing. "No matter how much practice is involved in a performance, ultimately the dancer has to love dancing to be perfect," said Sonia.

Rhea Krishnatraye
Her training in dance started with Ashley Lobo at the Dancework Academy in the jazz style of dancing. "I started dancing eight years back. And I took to it, because it is something that I love," said Rhea Krishnatraye, adding that dancing can kill stress with its movements.
She went on to join the National Ballet and Academic Trust of India (NBATI) as a lead female dancer and is a member of the company. "For ballet, constant practice is important. Since the competition started, I have not been able to practice ballet. As soon as it ends, I will get back, and go beyond the standards I have set for myself," said Rhea.
She has also trained under the renowned Argentinean ballet teacher Fernando Aguilera, specializing in classical ballet, and mastering in jazz, salsa, flamenco, and tango. "I credit him for my success. I started learning ballet under him when I was a 20 years old, while ballerinas start when they are 5 and 6. But in one year, he made me dance in ways I could only dream about. He knows my capacity to dance and be trained," said Rhea.
Talking about Bollywood dancing, Rhea said, "All the dance styles that I have trained for have different techniques, different steps, different beats, and different music. In Bollywood dancing you just assemble everything together and make the performance entertaining."
Rhea is a freelancer, choreographing mainly at weddings and at corporate functions. Talking about her partner Jadeja, Rhea said that he has lots of energy. "I suppose that is because he is a sportsman. While dancing, he is good at certain co-ordinations and not so good at others. This is because he is not a trained dancer. Choreographing Jadeja has been very interesting. I just wish I had more time. Then his potential to dance would shine out," said Rhea.

Longinus
Longinus started dancing 20 years ago, and has been a professional choreographer for over 10 years. He has been a winner of the Disco Duo Dance Championship in 1987, the Solo Dance Championship in 1989-90 and 91. "When I started out, I used to emulate John Travolta and Michael Jackson. Over the years I have learned break dance, modern jazz, free style, hip hop and last of all, ballroom dancing," said Longinus. Recollecting memories, he said that he loved to jive, as he always saw his parents jiving.
Longinus has choreographed for singers like Sunita Rao, Shwetha Shetty, and Sharon Prabhakar. He has also choreographed Bollywood films like Jaanleeva, O Maria, Agneepankh and others. Talking about Bollywood dances, he said, "What can be termed as a Bollywood dance is what Amitabh Bachchan does in the song 'Khaike Paan Banaras' and 'Sadak chaap'. What the actors are doing now is international dance." He would love to choreograph Shahrukh Khan for his energy, Hrithik Roshan for his classiness while dancing, Amitabh Bachchan for being a fabulous performer on screen.
His partner on the show, Shweta Salve is hardworking. "During the day she shoots for her serials and I have my classes. We only practice between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. She has a lot
of energy, she puts in great effort into her performances
and she has newer complained about the late practice hours," said Longinus.
To be a good dancer, Longinus said that all one needs is confidence. "You can learn the steps and get your dance perfect after a lot of practice. But when you go on stage you should have the confidence in yourself to carry it off," said Longinus.

Toby
Toby is a self-taught dancer and choreographer. He teaches salsa, jazz and contemporary dance to his pupils. "I started dancing 14 years back to lose weight. And since then, Latin American dance has been my favourite. However, in Mumbai, Bollywood dances are popular. So I try to incorporate Latin American dance steps with Bollywood music," said Toby.
Toby has choreographed shows for singers like Suneeta Rao, Mehnaz, Shaan, Leslie Lewis, Anu Malik etc. Talking about his partner in the show, Mona Singh, Toby said that he is very lucky to have her. "She works hard, she is a fast learner, and she will not give up. She will continue dancing until she corrects her flaws," said Toby, who says that he is living his dream. "My dream has been to dance. And I don't want this dream to end", said Toby.
Other than dancing, Toby also sings. "I used to sing in shows. I also had a band. But with being busy in dancing, I have stopped singing," said Toby.
The most difficult dance to master are Indian classical dances. "Bharatnatyam and Kathak cannot be mastered in a few weeks. They need years of practice. Unfortunately they are not popular in Mumbai. I would love to see them revived," said Toby.