Bollywood Reality Dance Show Naach Mere Jaan held its final auditions for the Caribbean at the Maho Theater on Saturday April 11th. There were 17 dazzling performances with 39 performers in all, including four entries from St. Thomas. St. Maarten’s talent wowed the crowd and the experienced international judges. Amongst their favorite entries were the Bollywood fusion moves of local dancers from Funtopia Dance Troupe. ‘We love and respect your culture and dance’ said one of the dancers when asked by the judges why they chose to join the competition. The Bollywood celebrity judges were moved to join the Funtopia dancers on stage to show them the latest Bollywood dance styles.
Simran Hotwani a crowd favorite, gave a spectacular performance and was a stong contender for the Best Kids Solo performance. That trophy went to 9 year old French St. Martiner Lia Sophia of the NIA who wowed the judges with her smooth and expert transition between Indian Classical Dance Bharatnatyam and African Danceforms. Marine Caillet of NIA and Vijay Dayalani tied for Best Adult Solo Performance with Caillet’s strong ballet and modern dance impressing the judges. Dayalani’s top notch Bollywood dance performance made him a strong contender for the upcoming finals in New York and another crowd favorite.
Disha and Diksha Lalwani, 7 year old twins, won the Best Kids Duet category for their soft and expressioned dance style. The winner of the entry for the Adult Duet category went to mother and son duo Ritika and Harsh Lulla. The trophy for the Kids Group Trophy went to St. Thomas entry Masala Masti Dance troupe for their mesmerizing performance. St. Maarten’s talent exceeded the expectations of the judges. The winners will be invited to the finals in New York.
Naach Mere Jaan St. Maarten edition was held under the banner of the Indian Merchants Association along with Naved Jaffrey Productions and Pria Haider Productions and LIFEOK Indian TV channel. The Judges were well known Bollywood dance reality show producer Naved Jaffrey, Rujuta Vaidya respected choreographer of Britney Spears, Black Eye Peas amongst others and Vatsal Seth of TV Series Ek Hasina Thi fame.