They are the unsung heroes responsible for bringing out the best in contestants and making them better performers. MUSBA HASHMI brings you a report on choreographers who started off as contestants themselves before becoming gurus
‘I started dancing at 10’
His passion and love for dance is what keeps him going. He started his journey from Dance India Dance 3 as a contestant and has come a long way. Meet Vivek Chachere, choreographer, who at present is a part of Super Dancer 3.
“I started dancing when I was 10-year-old. My elder brother was a dancer and I learnt the art from him. There was no scope of the art at that time, but my brother supported me throughout. I started taking part in small competitions and eventually paved my way in the industry,” he tells you.
Chachere recalls that though the competition was less back then, but the opportunities were also less which made it more difficult to pursue the artform as a career.
“When I started my journey, competition was comparatively less but the opportunities were also equally less and it made it difficult to pursue dance as a career. Now the competition have increased, but a number of dance reality shows are coming up which provide a platform for the young talent. It makes it a little easy for the fresh talent,” he tells you.
At present, Chachere is mentoring Akshit Bhandari in the show and maintains friendly relation with him.
“I maintain friendly relation with Akshit. I treat him as my brother. He is a very quick learner and there is a thirst of learning new things in him, which makes it easy for me to train him. The quality that I liked in him the most is that is never demands for anything. This quality of him sets him apart from every one else. Whenever I see him, I am able to relate the younger me to him,” he says and adds that in every season the gurus get to see fresh talent that is a notch higher from the previous ones and it sometimes come as a challenge for the gurus too.
He says that the thing that kept him going was not to fear failure.
“The thing that has helped me in the long run and has kept me going is not to fear failure. I always tell the contestants to have confidence, faith and belief in themselves. It is not important to win everytime but aap ka naam aur kaam sabkey dilon me rehna chahaiye,” he tells you.
‘Remo sir is my idol’
He realised it at a very young age that dance is where his heart lies. Meet Sanam Johar, choreographer, who comes from a business background but decided to go the other way instead of settling with his family business.
“I was interested in dancing since I was in school. I used to take part in dance competitions and my dance teacher was very impressed with me. He always told my parents that iss ko kabhi dance karney sey mat rokiyega. I used to balance my studies and dance. My parents never stopped me from going into this field but they were sceptical. My mother used to tell me that if in future you feel like that things are not working out then you are more than welcome to join the family business. I never had the pressure of doing consistently well in this field, which helped me in certain way to make my place in the industry,” he tells you and adds that his mother cried with happiness when she saw him performing on TV for the first time.
Johar says that his idol is Remo D’Souza and his calm and patient nature is what inspires him the most.
At present, Sanam is mentoring Jay Chauhan in Super Dancer 3 and he says that mentoring children comes with a lot of responsibility. “With Jay around, I have to be careful of what I am doing and speaking because he observes even the smallest activity of mine. He learns everything from me and wants to everything that I do. I have to make sure that he is learning only the good things from me, he says.
“People say that apney dreams ke peeche bhaago but I believe ki bhaagney ki zaroorat nahin hai. Agar aap dheere bhi chalengay toh it will work. When you are slow you can take firmer steps,” he tells you.
Patience is key to success
He was rejected a number of times because of his looks but every time he fell he got up and kept going. Meet Vaibhav Ghuge.
“I always wanted to be a dancer. I knew that this is what I am good at. I started off as a background dancer. I was a contestant in Dance India Dance 3. But the journey was not so smooth. There was a time when I used to get replaced at the time of rehearsals in many projects because of my looks. I felt bad but decided not to lose hope,” Ghuge tells you who have been a part of Super Dancer for all three seasons now.
“My Super Dancer journey have been amazing. I had Yogesh Sharma in the first season, Bishal Sharma in the second and now I have Saksham Sharma. All three of them are quick learners. I think this Sharma logic is working out for me,” he tells you.
Though it is challenging to mentor children, he enjoys it. “It is challenging to mentor young children. Previously, the contestants that I got were older than Saksham, they were mature so it was easy with them. But Saksham is just 7, so it takes a lot of effort. But I love children so I am happy. The biggest challenge with children is that you can’t be rude. Bachchon ko daantna bhi aese hota hai ki daant mein bhi pyaar dikhe,” he tells you.
Ghuge says that the learning process should not stop even if you are out of a comepetition. “ I don’t know for how long Saksham will survive. The only advice that I give to him is to never stop dancing,” he explains.
He has a piece of advice for children who get disheartened. “If you are not selected, it doesn’t mean that you are not talented enough but sometimes it is just not your day. So, don’t lose hope, be confident, keep trying and you will be able to make it. Patience is the key to success,” he tells you.
