So I spent a couple days wondering around Madras aimlessly. I got an invitation to go to some sort of dance, although I had no idea what to expect. I got a ride from one of my new Couchsurfing friends and we drove to the dance. Once there we stood around for a while until we met up with some other Couchsurfers who were holding our tickets. From outside you could hear the pulsating rhythms vibrating your body. After going inside we saw an entire auditorium of people dancing in unison. After going upstairs to the balcony we got a good view of the crowd all doing a traditional dance in traditional costumes decorated with silk, sequins, and silver. After taking plenty of pictures, it was our turn to lean some traditional Indian dance. The main event of the evening was to be a large group dance involving clicking small sticks together. My camera was hijacked by one of the other Couchsurfers and it was time to learn. While the basic steps were not very difficult, there are enough variations that you can get as fancy as you like. Everything from extra steps, to spins and stick twirls were all options. Once we learned some of the basic moves, it was time to go downstairs to hit the dance floor.
After dancing for a little while, the band quit playing and a DJ started up for the intermission. Although the beat kept going, the music changed to more of a nightclub sound and the dance floor started to clear out. Ironically enough, a big circle formed directly in front of me… this was of course too much to resist, so breakdancing naturally ensued. Now keeping in mind that breakdancing usually draws some sort of crowd, I was prepared for people to stare at the crazy foreigner, but holy shit! I did one move, and by the time I stood back up there was a crowd of probably 50 people. I did one more move, looked up, and had probably 300 people gathered around me watching with enthusiasm. I’m all for putting on a show, but Damn! I am only one man. I did my best and tried to encourage others to join in (there were a couple guys that tried some stuff), but apparently not as many people know how to breakdance in India as in the US.
After about ten minutes the circle finally disintegrated and everyone started to go nuts with their new found enthusiasm. I continued dancing with my fellow Couchsurfers and we all went nuts as well. A little more dancing until the DJ stopped spinning, and it was time for a water break followed by some more picture taking. They got all the young kids out on the floor for a dance contest. It was quite cute and much picture taking ensued. I wish I had a better low-light lens because it was hard for me to get any good pictures, but I got at least one or two.
After all the kids finished their contest, it was time for the adults to dance, so downstairs we went. Everyone formed four concentric circles, probably twenty meters in diameter, all moving in opposing directions. Everyone clicked their sticks together in unison and moved in unison. It was quite a sight to see. After practicing in my head for a couple minutes, it was time to jump into the mix. Once I got about half way around the circle, I pretty much had it down, so I started copying other people’s moves and adding a little variation to my dance. Most people seemed pretty pleased that the foreigner could follow along with the traditional dance. I got plenty of complements on my dancing, including from one of the dancing judges, so I must have been doing something right. The circle lasted for probably close to an hour before people broke out into smaller groups. Over all, quite a good time and definitely something worth repeating if I ever have another opportunity.
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