It is a hat-trick for dancer-choreographer Bharathi Kannan, whose students have won laurels at the Dance World Cup (DWC) 2017 in Germany. This year they competed in three categories and used Bhangra in the folk category. “It is the first time India won above 90 points in this category,” says the choreographer.
His students competed with 47 countries and 12,000 contestants. The junior team from his I AM YOU Dance Studio bagged one gold in the Junior Duet Hip-hop and Street, winning a bronze each in the Junior Group Hip-hop and Street and the Junior Solo Hip-hop and Street category — all choreographed by Kannan.
Kannan, popularly known as Bee Kay, beams as he walks in with seven children in tow — Jayasmruti, Mokshaghna Sreenivas Eedala, Adrika Sanjeev, Ketaki Kedar Vaze, Vinaya Seshan, Yaamini Hariharan and Harshini Madhusudhana.
Bee Kay has been teaching dance across the city for the past two years, started his own dance school in January 2017 in Koramangala. “These children have been training with me for the last two-and-a-half years and were ready for the contest,” he says.
Ask him about the unusual name of his school and he replies, “It is an attempt is make it relatable to everyone and to communicate that we are all on the same platform.”
The school is located in Koramangala. “I come from a very humble background and was struggling to find a place. A parent offered me this space to start my school. That is how it came to be. I was encouraged to train my students for the international contest and they came forward to take care of the expenses,” he states. The children enjoy working with Bee Kay. Seventeen-year-old Adrika says, “He does not differentiate between a teacher and a student. He makes dance fun for us.”
For the contest in Germany, Bee Kay was assisted by his dancer friend Shanmugavel. Shanmugael, who works in Bengaluru in an IT firm says, “We learnt dance together. I have to work, but also love dance and decided to help him. That way I also get to keep my passion alive.”
Adrika adds that dance is a stress buster and teaches you to use the stage. Another student, Jayasmruti says, “Representing India was a moment of great pride, especially when your national anthem plays as you receive the medal. That feeling cannot be described in words.”
Moksh, the youngest in the group says, he was scared of dancing and also of Bee Kay for “he lost his cool in the last few days.” But Adrika defends her teacher, “We needed his temper to focus in the last days. I feel that was a kind of verbal motivation to work harder.” The group did face a minor issue when Adrika’s parents did not want to send her for the competition, since she had to prepare for her exams. But Bee Kay persuaded them and says, “I understand it is not easy for children. To balance school, dance, and traffic for practice. I was firm that we will not leave any one behind. We have to encourage children to take to some kind of performing arts.” Bee Kay wants to audition new children, especially those who cannot afford to pay their fees. “There was a time when I did not even have 12 rupees to pay for my bus ticket. So for months I collected 25 paise and had the money to get a ticket. It was my first trip to my dance class. The other person who celebrated with me was the bus conductor as he was overjoyed on seeing so much change,” laughs Bee Kay. He then says that he never pressurises his students to win. “Hip hop competitions are not about winning medals, but about feeling the music, the motion and then to perform. Winning is only a part of that experience.”
