One of the earliest friends I made in the Salsa circle was Yogesh, I know him as a die hard Salsa aficionado and inspiring teacher & passionate dancer of Salsa.He is a constant reminder to me how life should be easy without any hangups, his dance personifies this attitude, check out this interview with Yogesh, known as YK in the Salsa circle, who i believe is one of the earliest Salsa dancers the city has seen.

• How and when did you get introduced to Salsa? Who were your teachers who helped you hone your dancing Skills?

I was studying in a small university town- iowa city, USA -where i went our dancing and saw this soulful dance which looked like jiving. Though I managed to pick up the steps, i realised that i was quite offbeat. I resolved to learn the dance asap. We had a student who was conducting salsa workshops in the university and I learnt my basics from him- Modei – a mix of Latin and African parents. Hanging out at the local salsa pubs with Latin students helped me add finesse and passion to the steps. Later on i went to learn other forms of Latin ballroom in Washington DC from world champions- Maria and Martin- and was an instructor in their studio there.

• What difference has Salsa made to your life?

Besides making me a more social person Salsa has immersed me in a new culture- that of Latin Americans. This dance has helped me keep fit- physically and mentally. It has won me many friends around the world . I have also been able to help absolute newcomers to learn dancing and this has boosted the confidence of many aspiring salseros. I also learnt Spanish to understand Salsa better.

My students have varied from teenagers to those leading a busy corporate life to senior citizens. It gives me immense pleasure to see someone happy while dancing. And of course salsa has given me an alternate profession- Two Left Feet – a dance group that we started to teach dancing to people who are short of time and want to learn it in a fun and fast manner.

• How long have you been dancing Salsa? which is you “other” favourite Latin dance?

Its been 12 years since I first danced salsa. After that it has literally been a way of life. Brazilian Samba and Argentine tango are my other favorite Latin dances. The fun and footloose Samba is exactly opposite to the passionate and disciplined Tango.. yet they mesmerise the soul and body alike.

• What do you think about the Salsa Parties happening in Mumbai?
  

It is heartening to see more salsa parties in Mumbai after I first started dancing with Devika Shahani at Liquid Lounge in 2002.  Now there are atleast 4-5 places in a week to dance salsa. I look forward to seeing more live music salsa parties and maybe open air parties too.

• How many Salsa congresses in India and around the world have you attended?
  

I have attended one each in Bangalore and Bombay.One of the first things that I do when i travel is to go dancing at a salsa club. i have danced in more than 25 cities across more than 15 countries in the world.  I enjoyed the Salsa congress the most in Amsterdam and Berlin.

• How does your family react to your passion for Salsa? Do they support you?

When I first started to dance, it was an uphill task convincing my parents as the perception of the dance was very negative in India. Over the years they have seen me perform and the dance has also received rave reviews. Now they are proud to inform people about my passion for dancing.

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Q: What do you think is your biggest contribution to dance scene in Mumbai in particular?

ANS: Giving the people in Mumbai to see quality work and an opportunity to see world class Dancers / Teachers from different parts of the World. Keeping Dance alive and taking it to another level to some extent. Not to forget giving people an opportunity to travel around the world and perform too.

Q: Tell us how you manage to run your dance school, when you are virtually travelling all over the world participating is Salsa congresses, isn’t it time you concentrate at home?

ANS: If I get invited across the Globe as an Artist to teach and perform and spread my knowledge, Why not? I am honoured to be one of the few Asians who gets invited across the world every single month to teach at Big Dance Festivals. I feel like a Dance Ambassador of India and this helps me promote India across the World. It helps me put India in the Map.
As far as India is conscerned I give equal importance to my 25 Studios across Delhi, Bombay, Kolkata and Pune. I am happy to have a team who I can trust and are super talented. There is a bigger picture for India which I am working on and people will see it for themselves when time comes.

Q: Why are you promoting other dance forms like hip hop? When clearly you are a Salsa specialist?

ANS: I am a Salsa specialist and thats why I teach Salsa. As a promoter I have the source to get down teachers for other dance forms, so why not promote other dance forms as well? My background in Dance started with Hip Hop, Jazz, Contemporary and so on. I still love those dance forms, infact for me a dancer needs to be versatile. As a dance promoter its my duty to promote as many dance forms as I can. As a specialist I teach only the forms I excel in.

Q: Can you tell our readers 5 reasons they shouldn’t miss the Ist bachata festival?

ANS:

1: Its the 1st Bachata Festival in India
2: An opportunity to learn different Dance forms from well known International Instructors like Dom, Marion, Vanessa, James and so on.
3: Its cheap as compared to other Congresses around the world.
4: An opportunity for people to perform and participate on a plat form like this
5: Its time to increase your vision as a dancer or as a choreogrpaher.

Q:  Whats your vision about the festivals, are we going to have a Salsa festival also, or you are sticking to bachata festival?

ANS: The Festivals I organize in India are the Salsa India Festival, Delhi Salsa Get Away, Goa Salsa Festival and Bachata Festival in India. These festivals will keep happeninig along side other Big Salsa Congresses I co-organize and promte like Turkey International Salsa Congress, Salsa Cruise Asia, Dance Cruise Asia, Berlin Salsa Congress, Rome Salsa Festival, Bologna Salsa Festival and so on.
It looks easy to organize such festivals but only I know and those who do similar events know how difficult it is to organize just one such event, specially when we have no sponsors.

I promice this. As long as my passion remains I will keep doing such festivals and keep giving people in India to see, learn and interact with the best in the field of dance without having to leave India for it.

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As a part of the new series, every month I intend to do one interview with one of the leading Salsa Instructors, we could do with a bit of a perspective from the instructors point of view, here is kick starting this series with the celebrity Salsa Instructor Sandip Soparrkar.

Q- How can you describe yourself? A dancer/choreographer/instructor/celeb? Can you elaborate on the same?

A- i am a dance teacher and a choreographer… coz i feel that dance is an art and its learnt over a period of time… instructor are ment for things which are not subjects… and teachers are for subjects and dance is surely a subject… that needs dedication and devotion..

Q – We are very interested in the styles of latin dancing you teach, particularly Salsa? Where & whom have you learned Salsa from?

A – i have done my training as a dance teacher from.. ballroom dance training school, bonn, germany… its an ISTD institute… salsa was one of my special subjects along with the greek dance the zorba…

Q – As per my records, you teach at only at 2/3 locations while other instructors have 7/8 minimum location, is teaching dance your only vocation, or what is the reason you have not opened more centres like say Shiamak Davar?

A- yr information is old… we have many branches in mumbai… chowpatty, worli, prabhadevi, bandra, santacruz, andheri, goregaon and navi mumbai… apart from mumbai we have classes in two place in pune (koregaon park and MG road), a’bad, surat, h’bad and an international branch in kathmandu… we are not opening our next branch in delhi from feb…

Q – Your students have always complained that you are very strict while teaching. Is this kind of high handed behaviour necessary?

A- ha ha now thats funny… i do not think we are strict at all.. we teach dance… coz we feel that… dance is fun but at the same time its serious fun… it is an art form that needs to develop respect in india and has not reached that level yet… in indian classic classes the respect for dance and the form is tremendous… so why not for western forms too… indian must look at western form not just as a hobby and a thing for spending time…but an art that will develop then as a human being…

Q – As per my knowledge you are essentially a ballroom dancer, who also teaches Salsa, many people who have watched your students perform Salsa, complain that the style is very ballroomised? (if that can be term).So the question is, do you focus more on teaching Ballroom that Salsa?

A – yes i am essentailly a Ballroom and Latin dance teacher… I learnt salsa as a special subject… to me salsa is a great mix of different forms and cultures too… many studios teach salsa with lot of hip hop and jazz mixed too… their salsa is not termed as hip hopish salsa… so why is what i teach called ballroomish….

Q – I have heard you don’t like to mingle with students from other dance schools, so your parties are closed? Can we expect some big event from your Studio which will set the bench mark for other dance schools?

A- you have lot of wrong informations about our studio… our stuido parties are always open to all.. many other studio people and many other siders who arenot a part of any studio and are just dance lovers … do come for our gathering… every yr we celebrate the international dance day in a big way… where all my students, troup dancers, celebrity students and me.. we all dance..

thanks
regards
sandip soparrkar

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