A humble grocery store flanks the ground floor of the nondescript building in West Saidapet, where youngsters and neighbours mull around to buy their daily needs and have a good laugh on the side. As you climb to the first floor, you can hear the rhythmic chants — more ardent than priests or lamas — of young students and their tutor reciting multiplication tables. The entire building is a juxtaposition of private space and community interaction, and you have to steer your way through a minefield of strewn footwear to reach the second floor, where this synergy reaches its peak.
Here, most of the sole flat on that floor comprises of a single extended room, with a mirror covering one wall. Yes, it’s a dance studio, and about twenty young men are hard at work to find the sweet spot between b-boy, contemporary and what they call ‘urban dance’ aka the next big thing. They started out for the love of it, but now, rehearsals have a sense of urgency to them: California beckons.
Step up Out of the ₹36 lakh they need in total, they have so far managed to raise only ₹1 lakh R Ravindran
The troupe, which calls itself OPM aka ‘Organisation of passionate movers’, has been selected for the final, global round of World of Dance. Though their first season came out just last year, the show is already a runaway hit on the NBC network, and dance troupes from about 25 countries are making their way to its floodlit stage this year. OPM will be one of them, if they can collect enough money to pay for the trip. “A team of 18 of us will be going to Pasadena for the competition,” says 26-year-old Mauryan, “For this, we’ll need to raise at least ₹2 lakh per person, of which 1 lakh will go into the airfare alone, and then there are the registration fees, and our stay there for a week.” Out of the ₹36 lakh they need in total, they have so far managed to raise only ₹1 lakh.
The crew got its confirmation mail from World of Dance on June 8, they say, and since then have been hard-pressed to raise the cash. They’ve tried everything: from dance workshops to earn some extra money to a fund-raising page on Milaap, but have so far managed to raise just a tiny fraction of what they need.
“We’ve tried putting out word on social media, but the posts keep getting circulated within the small circles of Chennai’s dancing community. Word isn’t reaching very far,” rues 25-year-old Sai.
Another problem, as Nivas points out, is credibility. “Most people we spoke to didn’t believe us, and a lot of people we approached hadn’t even heard of World of Dance in the first place. Until we received the official email, we didn’t have any proof, and naturally people weren’t willing to shell out any money to help us,” he says.
But even as fund-raising continues to be a struggle, preparations haven’t suffered any loss of tempo. This is mainly because, for everyone in the troupe, dance is a priority. “Some of us are college students, but most of us are working. I’m teaching dance, but the others have chosen jobs at call centres and other places that guarantee them fixed timings so they can leave their offices and come dance at the end of the day,” explains Mauryan.
It’s a way of life for them, and it’s the medium they use to express everything, from their personal issues to their politics, and their way of life. This is probably one of the reasons they made it to the finals: their performance was choreographed to ‘Where is the love of’ and had brought in the protests, struggles and arrests and killings plaguing Tamil Nadu.
“Our theme is ‘Humans killing humans’. We’ll be taking the same piece to the finals, provided we have the money for it,” signs off Nivas.
The OPM team needs to fly to Pasadena on July 26. To get in touch with them, call 9840972919, or contribute at milaap.org/fundraisers/helpopm.
