Dancing with the feet is one thing but dancing with the heart is another and at the LSR Dance Society, we believe in doing just that. We believe in engaging the dancer not only in technique based training but also finer nuances like expressing and breathing from the soul, and inspiring them through the medium of dance.
The society encompasses all forms of dance, and we have 3 main segments: Classical: comprising of all Indian classical dance forms, wherein synergised dance renditions are prepared, retaining the essence of each classical form. All the members are encouraged and given an opportunity to develop as solo performers as well.
Choreography: applies different dance forms such as contemporary, lyrical jazz, ballet into creating a thematic representation, and is choreographed into a dance ballet.
Western: amalgamates major western dance styles such as hip hop, Bollywood, jazz, wacking etc. It builds on each style and fuses them into western dance productions.
We strive to attain excellence in performances conducted both inside and outside of college through intensive training which is not only gruelling but also extremely rewarding making us one of the most active and appreciated societies at LSR.
Staff Advisors
Classical –
Convener: Saswati Bhattacharya, Shilpi Singh
Co-Convener: Bhargavi Charan
Contemporary –
Convener: Saswati Bhattacharya, Shilpi Singh
Co-Convener: Swatie, Bhawana Arora
Society email: dancesoc.lsr@gmail.com
The vision for the year 2022-23, was to create a dynamic and inclusive dance community that celebrates the richness and diversity of dance. With three distinct wings – Classical, Choreography and Western, society aimed to build a space for dancers to explore, learn, and excel while fostering collaboration and artistic growth. This year the society organized four exciting intercollege events as part of the college’s annual fest, Tarang ’23: MUDRA – the solo and duet classical dance competition, IZRAAZ – the thematic dance competition, BAILA – the western group dance competition and BATTLEGROUND – the crew vs crew street dance battle. These events showcased the incredible talent and passion of dancers from various colleges, bringing together a vibrant celebration of dance.
The Classical Wing
The Classical Wing showcased the elegance and beauty of four Indian Classical dance forms: Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, and Mohiniattam. The year began with a captivating monsoon-themed performance for the NAAC visit. With dedicated efforts, the wing choreographed an enchanting annual production – “Shiva”, showcasing both the powerful Tandav and the graceful Lasya aspects of the deity. The production was a resounding success, receiving accolades, bagging the First Position at AIIMS (Delhi), BITS (Pilani), and MAIMS (Delhi). The wing showcased the production on their home stage on Tarang’23, the prestigious Indian Heritage Centre for Youth India Foundation- 25 Under 25 and the IMA Conference, where they performed in front of esteemed individuals from around the world. The classical wing members showcased their exceptional talent by participating in solo dance competitions: Muskan Sahu won the First Prize at BITS Pilani. Soumya Nandal bagged the Second Prize at DTU, SRCC, MDI Gurgaon and BITS pilani. Bhadra Mohan secured the Second Prize at BITS Pilani.
The Choreography Wing
The Choreography Wing began the year by training in ballet and jazz. The members dedicated themselves to intensive training for their annual production – “Reflections”. Benjamin Jacob and the team members choreographed the thought-provoking pieces of the production, which delved into the haunting impact of trauma and troubles in life and depicted the relentless pursuit of recognition and overcoming, through avenues of acceptance, revenge, and forgiveness. The production earned numerous accolades, including the First Place at IIT (Delhi) and Hindu College. The Second Place at BITS (Pilani), IIIT (Delhi), NSUT, Gargi College, and the wing performed the production on their home stage at Tarang’23. Mehek Singh also achieved remarkable success by winning the First place at Ambedkar University (Delhi), Gargi College, and Hindu College.
Western Wing
The Western Wing began the year by embracing and training in dynamic range of styles. They showcased their versatility with a captivating Bhangra performance for NAAC’s visit cultural event. With dedication and hard work, and under the able guidance of the choreographers – Garima Gambhir, Jina Mishra, Anjali Arora and Vaishali Dwivedi, the wing prepared an impressive Annual Production, seamlessly integrating a range of dynamic dance styles and self choreographies. They skillfully combined elements of hip-hop, dancehall, afro, waacking, heels, and bollywood styles to create a captivating fusion of movement. The wing participated in over 19 competitions, achieving the First Place at DIPSAR, in the G-20 Indo-Brazillian Dance Fest. The wing also collaborated on notable events with TEDxDSC, Youth India Foundation, and Wildin, showcasing their talent and contributing to these platforms. They showcased their production on their home stage at Tarang’ 23.
Dancing with the feet is one thing but dancing with the heart is another and the LSR Dance Society, believes in doing just that. The Orientation for this year was held online, on 14th January. The auditions were held across 2 weeks, from 17th January to 4th February, 2022.
Western Wing
In the academic year of 2021-22, the Western wing trained in styles like hip-hop and dancehall under various choreographers. Pieces that were taught in the previous year by choreographers Gaurav Rawat (hip-hop) and Sushma Shetty (whacking-semi-classical fusion), which unfortunately could not be staged, were instead polished and performed this year. Additionally, new pieces were added by choreographers Tanshul Thakur and Hardik Bhutani in the 2022 production
With the help of society seniors, the members trained in Bhangra as well. A majority of the production of this year was created online, in light of the pandemic. Upon returning to the campus the team converted an online production to a stage performance and trained the newly inducted first years. The whole team put up the final annual production on 12th April for Umang, LSR’s cultural event.
Choreography Wing
The Choreography wing began the year by training themselves in the basics of Ballet and Jazz and continued their training for the majority of the online part of the year. Upon moving back to an offline mode of operation, the team began training the new members of the society, and with a shortened fest season, decided to properly stage its previous year’s online thematic production (2020-21), Lilith.
Lilith, sheds a light on the first woman that God had created alongside Adam. But upon her denial to be subservient, Lilith was banished and cursed away from the garden of Eden and demonized. The production portrays the pain that Lilith suffers through intricate choreography and heartfelt emotion. The pieces were choreographed by Eden Dolreich Pereira as well as the team members themselves. The production bagged the first position at Mood Indigo (IIT Bombay; online) and in Mudra (NSUT; offline) Lastly, the team staged its performance on the home stage during Umang ’22.
Classical Wing
The Classical wing presented its Annual Production at Umang. The production comprised a unique combination of hand gestures, footwork, expressions and body movements, portrayed through the dance forms of Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam and Odissi. The entire production was choreographed by the team members themselves. Across the academic year, the members also participated and performed well in solo dance competitions held at colleges across Delhi and beyond. Muskan Sahu bagged the Third prize in the MI The Best Solo Dance Competition and Soumya Nandal won the Second prize in the MDI Gurgaon Solo Dance Competition. As a way of bidding goodbye to the senior most members of the society and compensating for lost opportunities in the pandemic, the society also decided to put up a performance created and executed entirely by the final year members. The performance, aptly titled “One Last Time” was performed as a part of Umang ‘22.