Berkeley Bollywood dance group, Ishaara, shines on America’s Got Talent
The San Jose Mercury News reports on the success of the Berkeley-based Bollywood dance troupe, Ishaara, which appeared last night on America’s Got Talent:
If you happened to watch “America’s Got Talent” last night, you were no doubt captivated by the exuberance and stellar moves of Bollywood dance group, Ishaara.
The group, comprised of UC Berkeley students, bolted onto the stage and boldly proclaimed to the judges that they were there to “knock your socks off.”
Mission accomplished. Moving to the grooves of “Jai Ho” (the song made famous by “Slumdog Millionaire”), Ishaara rocked the house, bringing the audience to its feet and smiles to the faces of the judges.
After a little digging on the ‘Net. we learned that Ishaara is an award-winning troupe, having won several intercollegiate competitions in recent years and bringing Bollywood glory to Cal. We wish them continued success on “America’s Got Talent.”
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I watched them last night and thought they were fabulous. Great energy and personality. A credit to Berkeley. My only slight niggle was the fact that it’s the one white (blond, female) member of the group who is chosen to be the romantic lead. But maybe I’ve been in Berkeley too long and political correctness has gone to my head. I hope they triumph in the competition!
The “white” blond female is actually 1/2. Her mom is Indian.
@Tracey Taylor
@Go Bears
So, putting all this together what have we learned? It’s politically incorrect to have a white-skin female lead dancer with a company of brown skinned dancers, especially if her sexuality is referred to in the dance. And it’s OK, in this case, because even though she looks white she is really a half-breed. As always, Berkeley stands on the leading edge of progressive thinking.
(I agree they are very good. I got annoyed watching the clip by the video edits – the cuts to off stage, audience, and panel. It would have been nice to see more of the actual dance.)
-t
They were with us on a Five day Carnival Cruise to Bahamas On July 16th….man they were fantastic….hats off to them and good luck in Vegas…..
@Thomas Lord
I really don’t care that she’s “white” looking, or that the lead is 1/2 white/light skinned. My comment was in reference to the poster above mine bothered by the fact that the female lead was the white member of the group. I was merely stating that in fact, she’s 1/2 Indian. I find it amusing when people overreact.
@Go Bears
I know nobody meant it “that way” and each would be mortified if seriously taken as saying what I described. I found the whole exchange accidentally funny, hence the
This is wonderful that they are getting so much national attention. I LOVE Bollywood music, and dance it (badly) in my own home all the time to my own cds. I’m glad to see it being appreciated more widely.
Um, can we move beyond this discussion before it turns into something suitable for another episode of Seinfeld? Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
@Mark Haas
How dare you save us from ourselves.
-t
trully speaking. Congrats, but this isn’t bollywood. you can’t put the pussycat dolls version of jai ho, and say thats bollywood. nope. being a bollywood dancer and choreographer, this is wrong. if you going to represent bollywood, please do it the right way. once again, congrats.
Sonia – I totally agree with you! On the other hand for those that don’t really know Bollywood, but saw Slumdog and know that music, this presentation may be an entry point that gets them more interested in exploring BW more widely. And for that I welcome it. Maybe some who see this version of Jai Ho will then want to see some real BW. You have to start somewhere. I know a lot of people who started watching Bollywood films because of “Bride and Prejudice” (which I didn’t like and didn’t think was authentic).
You people do know, Ishaara’s motto is, “where Bollywood meets Hollywood” They’re not a pure Bollywood team albeit they do fusion Hindi film dancing. They’re showing the world what bollywood is like, but adding the Hollywood flare to make it more appealing.