- Bollywood Wedding 2013, Italian Gardens at the PNE, Two sets of shows, July 17 - 21 and July 24 - 28. Nightly at 8 p.m. plus weekend matinees at 2 p.m.
DANCE has almost always been a part of Suragini Ravindran's life.
It started 15 years ago in Mumbai, India, when she needed a break from the rigors of school.
"Basically like every young teenager when you're on break and you feel like you've just given a very, very hectic schedule of exams," says Ravindran. "And you realize 'Man I really have to get fit and get back into shape' and what better way than dancing?"
She says the first name that came to mind was Shiamak and she's been with them ever since. Davar Shiamak has been called the "Guru of Contemporary Dance" in India and has schools and dance teams all over the world.
Ravindran, who came to Canada in 2008 and lives in North Vancouver, has gone from a young dancer to an established choreographer. She is one of three dancers and choreographers from the Shiamak Vancouver dance team involved in Bollywood Wedding, an outdoor interactive dance and theatre event produced by South Asian Arts and taking place at this year's Pacific National Exhibition from July 17 to July 28.
"Shiamak style" as it is known, combines various Western styles of dance with traditional Indian style. The Vancouver dance team has worked with South Asian Arts before on various events, including the Times of India Filmfare Awards that took place earlier this year in Vancouver.
"We were amazed to see how excited people were to have Bollywood in Vancouver," Ravindran says.
This is the first time, however, the dance team has worked on Bollywood Wedding and it was a unique experience for them.
"It's something we've never done before," says Ravindran. "We always do festivals and stage productions. This was more of a musical, it was nice to interact with the actors."
Bollywood Wedding is about the arranged engagement and marriage of two young Indians and all the comedic drama that arises on the big day.
"It's basically taking people through the process of what a Bollywood wedding has, you know the customs, and the boy's family meets the girl's family and in between that everything is about celebration," says Ravindran. "Every stage of the wedding is a celebration event."
"As they say in India 'it's not about the bride and groom being married, but the unity of families and traditional values.' It has a very ethnic feel to it."
The production is playing in the Italian Gardens at the PNE grounds where the audience or 'guests' will move from one part of the garden to another, taking in various events from the engagement to the wedding ceremony.
"It's actually very beautiful," says Ravindran. "And it's amazing because dancers are always used to having a platform or a stage set up, but it's nice because it just has nature. You can feel the softness of the grass."
The open, outdoor and ever changing space also presented the biggest challenge for the choreographers.
"There was not one constant space to work in," says Ravindran. "But that's what makes it more dazzling and exciting for dancers is that you have to make do with the space given to you and yet not have to compromise on the choreography."
The dancers wear elaborate costumes that are specially designed by Shiamak to be used as props throughout the performance, says Ravindran.
"The costumes are heavy, especially the skirts that are worn."
She says the dancers are used to wearing shoes, but in Bollywood Wedding some numbers required them to be barefoot. "We have to make sure that the dancers are going to work hard. I think everyone was OK with it."
There are 16 dancers involved in the rehearsal process, but only between eight to 12 dancers will be used in the production on a rotating basis. The choreographers have been constantly tweaking the numbers, reworking partners or groupings and making adjustments according to the mood or feel of the song, says Ravindran.
"For us, sometimes we do one song and it takes us two weeks to plan it," she said. "And sometimes we do three songs and it may just take you five or six hours."
The music in Bollywood is always evolving, Ravindran explains, and every year the industry comes out with music for the current generation. The music they choose also depends on the script they are given.
"We're kind of working around newer sounds that we can use which are something that people can relate to," Ravindran says.
"So even if it's an older song that we're going to use, we're going to try and remix it using newer sounds that appeal to everyone."
The production has been busy with rehearsals to prepare for the July 17 opening night.
The team has taken two to three weeks to prepare. Ravindran says she's having fun and the highlight has been incorporating dance into a play.
"It's work, but I'm really enjoying what I'm doing as well."
