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Dance like this man
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Sandip Soparrkar has danced with people others can only dream about. He talks to Shonali Muthalaly on his star-studded journey
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He did the cha cha with Shakira. The mambo with Beyonce. He waltzed with Madonna.
And just when you thought his partners couldn’t possibly get more bootylicious, he’s getting into the groove with Britney Spears.
Thirty-three-year-old Sandip Soparrkar, Mumbai-based choreographer and dance teacher, began his career as a professional dancer competing in Latin ballroom competitions with his Polish partner.
After about nine years of dancing, on a visit to Pune to see his parents, he decided to settle down and teach dancing in India.
Today, barely seven years later, he’s spending every waking hour dreaming up fantastic dance sequences for Britney Spears’ new video ‘Womanizer’ from the album ‘Circus’.
“I’m going to New Jersey, for the making of the video,” he says, in a telephone interview from Mumbai. “One video for the song has already been released. This is a new version that will be released in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand.”
Sandip’s choreography will be set against an elaborate circus backdrop. “It’s going to be a typical Britney video, with a lot of touchy touch feeling,” he says, adding: “I’ve been given the song, and told to keep it extremely sensual, with a lot of interaction between Britney and the Aussie male model .”
Sandip says his career in Mumbai really took off, thanks to Kitu Gidwani and Sunita Kapoor (Anil Kapoor’s wife) who encouraged him to teach. Over the years, he has taught Mumbai the “rumba, passo double, samba, cha cha, jive, waltz, Viennese fox trot, quick step, tango and merengue…”
Gradually, he started to choreograph for Hindi movies. “It began with “Zubeida”, then I did “Holiday” and “The Rising”.” He also worked on “The Myth”, starring Jackie Chan. “I take up only those projects that have elements of Latin ballroom,” he says, refuting the idea that he creates a Bollywood-Latin blend for mass consumption.
Staying authentic
“My classes are absolutely authentic Latin ballroom. I can’t have Bollywood salsa, or Bollywood cha cha taught there,” he says, adding: “For the films it depends on the situation... What I normally do is strictly Latin American moves with a Bollywood expression.”
Sandip says he really owes this blend to Kajol, an enthusiastic student. “She used to say I want to do this with that song… can I try dancing to that?” he laughs.
“That’s what triggered the thought that we can blend stuff. I’m now learning from watching songs of Bollywood… especially Saroj Khan’s.”
About a year-and-a-half ago, event management company Wizcraft called him and asked if he would go to Shakira’s suite at the Taj hotel and give her a dancing lesson. (She was in Mumbai to perform, as part of her ‘Oral Fixation’ tour.)
“My guess is she wanted to work out, and couldn’t really use the gym or the pool, because of security,” says Sandip, “So she just wanted to dance, and probably dancing alone gets boring.”
Then came Beyonce, also in Mumbai for a concert. (The Beyonce Experience 2007 World Tour.) “This time, Beyonce asked specially for me,” Sandip says, adding that Shakira had recommended him.
So, is it intimidating to teach celebrities? “I guess they are like any other students,” he says thoughtfully, “more experienced, more dedicated. After all, this is their life, this is their everything. So, they are very professional.”
Sandip adds, however, that celebrity students have a definite edge over most other dancers. “Once they grasp what I’m teaching, they add their own personality to the choreography. They take it a step further, performing it with attitude and their own individual style.”
It took a Madonna to rattle Sandip’s composure. “She and Guy were touring India. I got a call from Jaipur, and flew there to take a waltz class for them… ,” he says, adding that he’s listened to Madonna’s music practically all his life. “So, I told her, ‘I don’t think I’ll be able to teach you,’ and she just said, ‘Relax!’”
He adds seriously: “I won’t be of any use if I’m in awe of them. I need to treat them like equals. And they make us — as teachers — feel bigger than them.”
WHAT SANDIP DIDN’T TELL US
Sandip and Britney? Well, there’s more to this than a mere working relationship according to the frenetic rumour mill. According to the Sunday Mirror, U.K., Britney Spears has been “swept off her feet by (the) Bollywood dance instructor.” A recent story goes on to say 27-year-old Britney flew to Jodhpur for a romantic three-day Christmas break with Sandip,
“a pin-up in his native India.”
Of course, Sandip’s girlfriend for more than four years, Jesse Randhawa, is reportedly miffed. Introduced to the U.K. public as “the first Indian model to appear on a catwalk in a see-through top,” the model has apparently asked Britney to back off. All this in a fiery article succinctly titled “Bollywood star tells Britney Spears - Hands off my man”
Celebrity gossip site snarkerati goes the extra mile and gives us a peek into a Sandip-Britney scene of domestic bliss.
“A source says he ordered “local delicacies including chicken tikka and a cottage cheese curry. Britney was nicking the dough balls from his plate. It was really cute.” Aw!
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