SDA brings the house down at Diwali Dhoom 2021

Diwali, the Festival of Lights is celebrated with pomp and flair at SDA. Diwali is the season where the hard work of our students and teachers comes to life. Where we showcase the beauty of Indian classical and folk dances with a lot of enthusiasm and pride.
This year we partnered with Indians in Jersey City to conduct the Diwali Dhoom event held at the Brunswick Center and it was a roaring success. Over 70 plus SDA students from all over Jersey City and beyond participated in Diwali Dhoom 2021. This year’s Diwali Dhoom was a complete Diwali Mela, full of shopping, masti and delicious food.

After just about 5 classes, our talented students were ready to take on the stage with confidence and pride. Our audience filled with doting parents, grandparents and well wishers was stunned to witness how our students performed their routines with grace and élan.

First up, our very own Bharatanatyam Instructor, Ms. Aditi, took the stage with the classic song Deva Shree Ganesha invoking Lord Ganesha to bless the event and all our Diwali celebrations. Next up, our Bharatanatyam students of SDA, trained by Ms Aditi, danced to the soulful track Kanha Soja Zara from the movie Bahubali. Our Bharatanatyam Divas in their pattu lehengas looked divine.

After that soulful act, let’s switch gears to SDA’s adorable Bollywood Beginners students from Newport who sure won the audience hearts’ with their twinkling eyes and adorable moves. Their Gud Naal Ishq Mitha rendition was met with deafening cheers and a ton of applause. SDA’s lil BGC Bollywood Beginners got onto stage to bring a smile to audience faces. They enthralled the crowd by dancing to the foot tapping number ‘London Thumakda’.

SDA’s most talented students, our Squad Juniors have worked very hard on their contemporary technique and finesse. They performed to perfection on the cross over track ‘Be Free’ by Vidya Vox. Next up, the adorable SDA  BGC Bollywood 1 kids perform their hearts out to the popular Garba track ‘Chogada Tara’.

SDA’s Nimbus Bollywood 2 rockstars burned the stage with their version of the song Badtameez Dil from the movie “Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani’. Mr. Ravi and Ms. Shen worked their BollyHop magic on them.  Next, SDA’s Cutie Pies in their adorable Indo western outfits charmed their way into the audience hearts with their fun moves and charming smiles.

SDA’s Stevens I & II students worked exceptionally hard to showcase their talent and all the hard work they put into learning their choreography. Our Stevens I Students danced to the Bhangra based track Morni Banke. Their energetic moves and enthusiasm drew a ton of applause.

Our lil ladies from Stevens II, performed their Garba based choreography to perfection. They sashayed onto the stage in their blue ghagras and stole everyone’s hearts with their moves.

SDA’s next four groups, brought the house down with their energy, charisma and sheer talent. Our Nimbus Bollywood I girls, in their blue leheriya ghagras, shimmied their way into our hearts with their fabulous Kamariya performance. Our BGC Bollywood 3, brought the magic of Madhuri Dixit and Prabhudeva to the stage in the foot tapping song ‘Key Sera’. Our crew was stylish and brought the audience to their seats’ end with their BollyJazz choreography.

Next, SDA’s All Girl Army showed us what it is to look like a butterfly but sting like a bee in our Hip Hop battle of South India vs North India. Closing out the kids’ performances, dressed to perfection, was a song and choreography to get this party roaring with delight, SDA’s BGC Bollywood 2 students with the song ‘Mera Wala Dance’.

SDA’s Company Dancers thrilled the audiences with a medley for the books. Our adult dancers medley was a mix of various dance forms from all over India- Garba, Bhangra, BollyHop and masala Bollywood and culminated in a tribute to celebrate Halloween weekend.

Our very own Ms. Appy from Buzy Bugs conducted some wonderful craft activities for the kids. The Buzy Bugs stall complete with Kandil (Lantern) making, flower rangolis and aiming the arrow at Ravaan’s head was a huge success. Some other fabulous vendors including Henna by Mansi Modi and Sartorial by Suraiya brought their charm and presence to the event. Thank you to Mamta Singh of Indians in JC for creating such a beautiful platform for so many small businesses and an amazing event for our JC community.

Our hearts are full of love and gratitude to our SDA families for trusting their children with us for the event. We could not have pulled this off without your constant support and encouragement. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you and Happy Diwali!