Czech Republic choreographer Jaja Vanková of "So You Think You Can Dance" fame, has been roped in to be a mentor on Indian dance reality TV show “bindass Naach”. Excited about her maiden visit to the country, she hopes to learn the art to sway her body the Bollywood way.
Exuberant sets and foot-tapping numbers accompanied by groovy steps are an integral vein of Hindi filmdom. And it has bewitched Jaja as well.
“I would love to try some Bollywood dancing and learn more about the music and the culture. I have seen a couple of Bollywood dance sequences on TV in America,” Jaja, who has also featured in film “Step Up: All In”, told IANS over phone from Mumbai.
“I like Bollywood music also. The mesh of the dance with music is a very unique combination,” she added.
In the show, which will be launched on August 16, Jaja will be mentoring three dance enthusiasts -- Shantanu Maheshwari, Macedon Dmello and Nimit Kotian -- and more, for an international dance competition. She will live their dreams with them.
Making a name for herself in the world of dance was not easy for Jaja, who started dancing at an age of 10. This makes her relate to the boys in the show -- a Disney ABCD franchise -- in a more personal way.
She first surfaced into the dance world with her hypnotic dance moves on TV show “So You Think You Can Dance”. Jaja was also part of troupe IaMmE, which won the “American Best Dance Crew Season 6”.
Looking back at her journey, she said: “It was very similar to these three dancers. I come from Czech Republic where planning about having a dance career was considered as a joke. I went to Los Angeles to pursue my dream."
Jaja will be a guiding force in the Indian show, and will be seen doling out secrets of the dance world.
“I will try to give them all the information about dance world and the professional world to help them get on the top level,” the choreographer said.
A television show may have brought her to India, but Jaja is already weaving plans to hit the silver screen.
“I have never choreographed for a Bollywood movie. I would love to choreograph for a Bollywood movie one day,” she said.
Talking of Hindi entertainment industry, Jaja points out that Bollywood has already created permanent place in the minds of the people of Czech Republic.
“People in Czech Republic know more about Bollywood dancing. When I was telling my friends and family that I was going to India, they didn’t expect that hip-hop would be popular here. So, I looked at some videos and I must say that some of dances are really great here,” the Los Angeles-based dancer said.
Jaja has attained perfection in multiple dance forms like animation, robot, krump, popping, locking and hip hop.
The foreign dance star asserts that she will teach the participants how to groove on an international platform while retaining their individualistic style.
“I will be teaching them a little bit of robot, krump and animation, but I'm also going to teach them their dance style. It is very important to keep them connected to their dance forms as well,” she said.
India is known for its rich and extensive spices. And that is one thing giving Jaja, who is in the country for about two weeks, a hard time.
“I am from a different part of the world. I tried eating Indian food yesterday (Wednesday) and it was very spicy. I don’t think my body can handle it,” she said.
Jaja will be seen on the show, produced by BBC Worldwide Ltd., for a few episodes as a mentor of the dance troupe.
