Dance with Me - Ajay & Rhea (Article)

Men have taken to dancing in a big way. While at one point of time they simply hung around the bar counter, today they confidently lead their partner to the dance floor and proudly display their moves to any beat. More and more men have finally learnt to shed their inhibitions and of late even corporate houses like ICICI, HSBC and Hinduja Hospitals have encouraged their male employees to take dance lessons.

Sandip Soparrkar, dance expert who specialises in ballroom and Latino dancing in Mumbai agrees that the number of men amongst his students has definitely increased since the past couple of years now. He says, "It is ironic that for a culture such as ours with the Lord of the dances being Nataraja, a male, the men have taken this long to explore this avenue. But then, men have started shedding their inhibitions now. And their perception about taking dancing lessons has changed drastically. They see dance as a stress buster or as a great opportunity to meet new people or even catch up with old friends. And with frequent international travel being an integral part of our lives, many men believe that dances such as salsa or the samba help them of make friends abroad."

Sandip also points out that many couples who jointly come for dance classes, believe that it helps them bond better with each other. Cricketer Ajay Jadeja, who participated in Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, seconds that thought. For him dancing is all about celebration between couples. "What do two people do when they get together? They celebrate. They could open a bottle of champagne and raise a toast to their future or opt to hit the dance floor. And dancing is so much better a form of celebration than drinking everyday or playing video games is! It is such a beautifully happy way to feel relaxed," he says.

But for Ajay who loves the salsa and the jive the most among all forms of dancing but confesses that it comes only second to his first love — cricket. Some men like 24-year-old software professional Arindam Ray Mukherjee, have taken to dancing lessons to get over their two left feet. Now he does the cha cha cha, the jive or the merange with just as much ease as he cooks up new software in his lab. "I can talk about dancing for the rest of my life, because that is how much I love it. It has been one of the best things that happened to me in my life," says Arindam.

For Bhavdeep Madhusudan Pandya, 55, who runs a courier company in Mumbai, dance was a form of release as well as a point of networking in business. Earlier on an introvert and shy person, his persistence to learn the form got him to clear five levels of Latino dances despite having failed the first level thrice. He says, "Dance has not only instilled confidence in me but I also see it as skills have improved and my customer base has increased considerably." So guys, what are you waiting for? Hit the dance floor with a vengeance.