On every National holiday, patriotism peaks among social media media users. The exchange of images of our Tricolourand messages declaring one’s love for the country see no bounds followed by images of R-Day parades, national leaders and so on.
But this Republic Day, one video that didn’t overdo the clichés is a dance video put together by T. Krishna Mohan Reddy from Behrampur who choreographs under the name of Prince Dance Group.
A team of about 15 dancers made intricate patterns with their bodies painted in the India tricolour. The smartly choreographed dance against the backdrop of the Gopalpur beach, near Behrampur had everything to depict the flag and the love for country in our genes. Literally in our genes, as the boys made an intricate pattern to depict the human DNA.
Krishna Mohan is a self-taught self motivated dancer who appeared on the popular dance reality show Boogie Woogie in 2006. “I studied till Class 10, but always loved dance. I started dancing on my own as a child and couldn’t give it up even when I grew up. Slowly I created a group and involved young daily wage workers from construction sites. The boys would learn to dance with me in the evening after finishing their work. It was with this team that I entered Boogie Woogie and haven’t stopped ever since,” says Krishna.
While Krishna took about two weeks to conceptualise the dance and the theme for the Tricolour, his team and he took three days to complete the video. “The video is our tribute to the nation as dancers and it was a great moment for us to present it. We enjoyed every moment of the shoot,” says Krishna.
Krishna’s video went viral on Whatsapp, giving the group a chance to cheer as it wasn’t publicised by any marketing team. Krishna’s original group of dancers have moved on in life pursuing different professions. “But there is no dearth of dancers. There are many young boys who want to learn dance and it is a pleasure to see the team constantly growing,” adds Krishna.
Members of Prince Dance Group, also the winners of India’s Got Talent in 2009, mostly dance with painted bodies and face.Since they cannot afford expensive organic paints, they use oil and distemper paints instead.
Krishna and his Prince Dance Group now does professional shows and Krishna has been able to pay some of the dancers who chose to stay with him.
“If I am able to give someone a livelihood, why not? What better way of doing it than doing what we love best, dance as if no one is watching,” says Krishna.
