Bollywood Dance attracted eyes globally with its lively music, colorful costumes and enticing storytelling.

The Indian Hindi film industry was created in the city of Bombay, now known as Mumbai. The name Bollywood was formed by combining Hollywood with Bombay. Bollywood is the largest film industry in the world when looking at the number of movies produced per year. The Bollywood style of dancing was first introduced to these movies in the late 50s and 60s. As Indian communities began to grow overseas, the popularity of Bollywood movies skyrocketed as well, going on to gain national recognition. 

Another reason Bollywood gained popularity worldwide is because of its unique incorporation of facial expressions in the dance. The expressions are just as important to dance and song as the lyrics themselves, they allow dancers to tell a story without speaking a single word. The costumes create a specific setting often meant to reflect the period in which the story takes place. 

Since the 1980s, Bollywood dancing has been heavily influenced by western media.  With these new dances seen on television, Bollywood films adapted jazz and hip hop in their dancing. Bollywood dance has also influenced western music. Major singers like Shakira, Madonna, and Britney Spears have used Bollywood-inspired dance or music in their songs. Many Bollywood dance groups in the US have concerts, events, and festivals they perform at, with some even performing at NBA halftime shows.

Here at Briar Woods, students have been introduced to the Bollywood Dance Team which just started earlier this year. When asked about the process of starting a club here at school, Khushi Doshi, the vice president of the Bollywood Dance club, replied “it was very confusing at first, but we reached out to Mr. Tangredi and he was excited to help.” Khushi wanted to help start the club because “[she] loves Bollywood dance and has done it since she was a child but now wanted to bring it to a high school setting.” 

When asked about her experience in the club, member Siri Chatradi, talks about how “one of [her] friends convinced her to join and [she] wasn’t really sure about it. But after [she] joined, [she] really liked the experience.”

If you’re looking for the cultural experience of a lifetime, make sure to join in the fall! The membership form is located on the team’s instagram page @bwhs_bwdt