Photos: Shahin Sunuwar Rasaili
Sarwanaam Theater is renowned among the theater-goers in Kathmandu. The auditorium has successfully hosted a number of plays based on contrasting themes. However, these days, the venue is being utilized for an entirely different purpose altogether.
You can listen to the loud music resounding from the basement. As you move toward the basement, you can then see different dance enthusiasts practicing their moves. The instructor is guiding them with the dance steps.
Since May 5, this has become a daily routine at the theatre. A popular dance group—Wild Ripperz is conducting the 15 days intensive hip hop Dance workshop. The Crew is the first runner-up of the popular Indian dance reality show—Dance Plus 2.
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According to Kiran Thapa—one of the crew members, the main objective of this workshop is to teach the basics of hip hop to dance enthusiasts. “Through the workshop, we are aiming to teach the participants all that we have experienced so far,” said Thapa.
“Since all participants are not experienced dancers, we are focused on teaching the basics of hip hop in the workshop. We will then gradually upgrade the skills of the participants to the next level,” he added.
Hip hop: Expressing yourself
Hip hop is one of the dance form introduced by a dance crew from the USA back in 1970. According to Thapa, hip hop started from the west and is an amalgamation of various dance forms, including breaking, rapping, locking.
“The main reason to get into hip hop is that there are no boundaries. We can be ourselves via Hip hop. However, we can see hip hop as the best medium to express ourselves, since this dance form welcomes uniqueness,” Thapa further spoke on hip hop’s importance. “That is why we are introducing this new form of hip hop amidst Nepali dancing enthusiasts,” he added.
Participant reaction
Prakash Tamang is a dancing instructor at Mills Berry School. He is a dance enthusiast and has enrolled in the workshop. “I’ve been into a dancing realm for over nine years. But, I had stopped dancing for some time now. Indeed, I’ve taken this workshop to revive my dancing skills and bounce back as a professional dancer,” Tamang said.
He added, “15 days in the workshop is not enough for basic learners. But people like us will get a chance to polish our dancing skills in terms of choreography and hip hop’s theoretical knowledge.”
Likewise, Sanjog Rasaili—actor and choreographer, is another participant. He said that the main reason behind enrolling in the workshop was to learn new things about this form of dance (hip hop). “I’ve grown up learning the old-school hip hop dance. So I took the workshop to learn more about the new form of hip hop. Earlier, I learned a little about lyrical hip hop. That workshop wrapped up in just two days,” Raisaili informed.
Not only men, but women are also equally participating in the workshop. Sujata Basyal—a dance instructor is one of them. She knew about the workshop through Facebook. “I’ve been following Wild Ripperz Crew on social media platforms. I knew about the workshop through their post on Facebook. I then contacted them and enrolled in the workshop,” Rasaili said.
“I lacked confidence in the past. But after joining this workshop, I have regained my confidence. I can dance but was not confidence in performing to a crowd,” she added.
