Dancing in Delhi

Some of the most important features of Bollywood (i.e. Indian) films are the dance sequences. My students know many of the songs and some of the dances, and if we have time after a lesson, we will sometimes go to the computer room (next to my classroom) to logon to YouTube and play Bollywood hits. They love dancing to the tunes and imitating the movements on the screen.

My predecessor at Mayapuri, my flatmate Bec, tried to teach the kids hip hip moves. The photo above shows Bec and the boys dancing to a Bollywood song whilst watching a YouTube clip.

For my part, I've tried to teach them to dance like it's 1984 - this has created much hilarity. I tend to think that the Bollywood dance style is bit of a cross between 80's dance steps and pole dancing, with moves you wouldn't see at the church dance spectacular.

When the students complete a unit of their Englsh curriculum, there is a final test. I do something a bit 'fun' after the test, so that they don't dread them as much. The video below shows some of the boys dancing to a Bollywood song after their test. The little groover in the front, wearing a Chinese-style shirt for some reason, is called Anish. He is my least successful student and my best dancer!

The other little fellow in the front, wearing a purple and white striped hoody, is one of my less able but more enthusiastic students. When I first met him he said that his name was Rajkumar but 'you can call me Prince' and that's just what I do.