Saturday, 20 August 2011


                                        Sandip with his dance partner Jesse

Choreographer Sandip enthralls Sarkozy, Clinton

Toronto, Aug 20: He captivated French President Nicolas Sarkozy and former US president Bill Clinton with his scintillating dance performance. Meet Bollywood choreographer Sandip Soparrkar.
Sandip is among a handful of Indian Bollywood artistes who have taken their craft to the global stage. Sandip has teamed up with Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz and Britney Spears, among others.
Sandip is a certified teacher of Latin American and Standard Ballroom Dances up to Championship level. He added a new feather to his cap when he hogged limelight at the World Economic Forum in Davos, along with his dance partner Jesse Randhawa.
In an interview with this writer, Sandip quipped: “It was a really a proud moment in that ours was the only dance event at the closing ceremony, and it was lauded by Bill Clinton and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The dance theme was "Save the Tiger" and we were totally overjoyed at the kind of response we got from the audience and the dignitaries.”

Sandip was quick to add that Clinton praised him saying that it was the best dance theme he had ever seen. For his part, Sarkozy was also unequivocal in his praise of Sandip. Sandip added that the dance theme was conceived by WEF Committee.
Sandip graduated from Ballroom Dance Teachers Training School in Bonn, Germany before establishing dance studios in many Indian cities. Sandip stood fourth in the Imperial Society of Teachers examination.
Sandip drew kudos from the Queen of England and the Prince of Wales for promoting Ballroom and  Latin American dance culture in India. Sandip taught Waltz and Cha Cha Cha moves to pop diva Madonna and Guy Ritchie.
Additionally, he taught pop divas  Shakira and Beyonce samba moves during their visit to India. Not only that, the ruler and prime minister of a Gulf state mastered the ropes of ballroom dancing from Sandip. A rare feat indeed. His other achievements include:
·    Choreographed Britney Spear’s music video "Womaniser" from her album "Circus"
·    Nominated for the prestigious "American Choreography Award 2009" in the  music  video choreography category
·    Choreographed Director Rob Marshall’s Hollywood  film "Nine" starring Penelope Cruz, Daniel Day Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench  and Sophia Loren.
·     Broadway musical  "Bruce Lee’s journey to the West"

Speaking about his upcoming Bollywood projects, he said he is presently choreographing three movies, including: "Raftar," "Cyclone," and "Jhoom Zindagi Jhoom."

He, however, refused to be drawn into the details.“These films are keeping me pre-occupied and I have some other projects going on that I cannot discuss right now,” he noted.

“I went international because my dance forms have global appeal, and dancing is my life,” Sandip concluded.

For more information about Sandip visit: sandipsoparrkar.net.

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