Performers honored for unique dance style

Choreographer combines Indian and western styles

BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

Arhythmic blend of music teamed with a fusion of traditional Indian dance and western dance styles brought top prizes to Nritya Creations Academy of Dance, directed by Meena Basu Nag, at the Naya Andaz competition held on March 1.

The performers from the Nritya Creations Academy of Dance won the honors of first prize in the senior dance category and best choreographer, after winning in the same areas last year.

Naya Andaz is an international competition held at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, with participants coming from across the United States and Canada, according to its Internet Web site. Having been in existence for 16 years, the competition has more than 3,000 participants and has seen 52 celebrity judges, famous for their work in the Bollywood genre.

Nineteen performers from Marlboro, Middletown, Matawan and Holmdel performed in the competition, according to Nag.

The performers were Shayoni (Mimi) Nag, Geatali Tampy, Anjali Tampy, Varuni Bewtra, Milli Roy, Shilpa Nandwani,AmandaMartinez, Brenda Ayden, Emily Ferreira, Brianna Howard, Jenny Casaletto, Mandi Tse, Katherine Mitchinson, Ananya Sengupta, Meera Sundaramurthy, Sonya Natarajan, Isha Purang, Anupali Bewtra and Amish Gandhi.

Dancers from the Nritya Creations Academy of Dance blend a fusion of traditional Indian dance and western dance styles during their performance at the Naya Andaz competition at the State Theater in New Brunswick. Dancers from the Nritya Creations Academy of Dance blend a fusion of traditional Indian dance and western dance styles during their performance at the Naya Andaz competition at the State Theater in New Brunswick. “Naya Andaz is an awesome experience and there is nothing better than being awarded first prize. All of our hard work and practice paid off. This year our diverse team became even closer and we bonded so well together like a family,” said Shayoni Nag, 13, of Holmdel.

The members of the dance team are not all of Indian heritage, a fact that Nag said makes the fusion of dance styles work.

“True fusion choreography can only be mastered when diversity is leveraged from the members of the dance team who lend their individual uniqueness and idea to the choreography,” Nag said.

The dances are performed to songs that have been featured in original Hindi movies. This year’s first prizewinning choice was the title track from the 1998 film “Dil Se” by A.R. Rahman.

Nag described the dance as portraying the multi-faceted emotions of love. She said the dance blended the Bharat Natyam, Manipuri and Uday Shankar classical styles with the western styles of tap dance, point ballet, jazz and hip-hop.

The choreographer recalled one judge’s remark that the performers danced from their hearts and were able to beautifully express the anguish, pain and joy of the emotion of love through their dance movements and facial expressions.

Shilpa Nandwani, 15, of Marlboro, was overjoyed at taking home the firstplace prize.

“It was so exciting to see all of our practices, especially those late nights, pay off,” she said.

The young woman began dancing at Nritya Creations three years ago after seeing family and friends practicing with Nag. Shilpa said that prior to viewing Nag’s work she had never seen a combination of classical Indian dance with western styles, and noted that a lot of people are surprised upon seeing the dance for the first time.

Dancer Geatali Tampy, 13, of Matawan, said winning the competition was like a dream come true. She said she would like to participate in Naya Andaz again.

Nag, who said she received her formal training in various styles of Indian dance from several Gurus, and is trained in the western styles of dance as well, founded Nritya Creations in 1990. She also serves as an associate board member of theMonmouth County Arts Council.

The directing and choreographing of dances for her academy are a personal passion for Nag, who said the art form gives her the drive to create new compositions.

At the moment, Nritya Creations does not have its own studio. Nag said she rents studio time at various locations. She expects to have a location in Edison in the near future.

For more information, contact Meena Basu Nag at (732) 598-7079 or view www.nrityacreations.com.