Asia Society Texas Center Stage

May 7: 3:30pm, 5:30pm

May 8: 2:30pm, 4:30pm

 

“Bollywood Blast” is the brainchild of the award-winning Houston-based choreographer Rathna Kumar, Artistic Director, Samskriti. Her dance school, Anjali, has been a long time participant at iFest and she has been named this year's Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee for Indian classical dance (Kuchipudi). The Sangeet Natak Akademi is the equivalent of the National Endowment for the Arts and is held in the highest esteem. The choreography for “Bollywood Blast” is by two versatile artists - Mahesh Mahbubani (May 7) and Jasmeeta Singh (May 8), Anjali Center’s creative Bollywood instructors. Mahesh, who is from Mumbai, is a graduate of the Laban University in London, UK. He has worked in the Bollywood film industry and brings great authenticity to his dances. Jasmeeta is a trained Kathak dancer who uses her knowledge of classical dance to bring a different perspective to Bollywood dances. The original “Bollywood Blast”, produced by Indian Performing Arts, Samskriti, is now an annual event at the Miller Outdoor Theatre, and is perhaps the most popular Indian dance show in Houston. “Bollywood Blast”  comprises some of the city’s most talented Indian dancers, and is a celebration of India's internationally acclaimed movie music scores.