SDA back with a bang! A look back at our Spring 2021 outdoor performances.

After a year long break, SDA is back and we could not be more proud of how much our students and team has grown during the pandemic. It was heartwarming for us to be back on stage and also to witness some fantastic performances by our students this Spring.

Spring 2021 Performance line up started with the Nimbus Arts Festival, a Family Arts & Culture weekend where a selected number of dance schools in NJ were invited to showcase their unique styles and talents. We are thankful and extremely honored to be a part of this event.

SDA lined up a spectacular amalgamation of different dance genres, from classical Bharatnatyam to Hiphop to Contemporary Jazz. Our dance routine started off with a Contemporary Jazz piece by our talented Squad Junior students to the song ‘Be Free’ by Vidya Vox. Their style and charisma flowed seamlessly to produce a beautiful blend of East meets West. This was followed by our Pre Juniors girls dressed in traditional red and green "pattu pavadai" dancing in Bharatnatyam style to ‘Ghar More Pardesiya’. Our beautiful, elegant and bright eyed students left the audience mesmerized with their grace and their ease in transitioning from traditional Bharatnatyam moves to semi classical Bollywood choreography.

Our Pre Juniors BollyHop batch drew applause for their energetic performance to the currently trending Bollywood track ‘Husn Hai Suhana’. They wowed the audience with their stylized moves and energetic performance. Our 5 min dance medley ended with a high power blend of Bharatnatyam and HipHop to the hard hitting track ‘India 91’ performed by our SDA Company Dancers. Team SDA blended both dance styles effortlessly and left the audience asking for more at the end of their act. While we were elated to be back on stage, what we are truly grateful for is the opportunity to come together as a family and share our love for dance.

Continuing our performing streak, SDA was back on stage at JCFamilies' Feministival organized at Hamilton Park. And this time in tow, were all our in person students from the Spring 2021 semester, all 30 of them. Our students witnessed a packed outdoor performance with a lhuge audience filled with family, friends and community members with non stop clapping and cheering throughout our act. We started our performance with a repeat of our talented Pre Juniors - ‘Ghar More Pardesiya’ Bharatnatyam routine that was received with lots of appreciation by our audience. Following them were our cute little Radhas in pretty pink flowing skirts. Our BGC Bollywood Beginners batch of 3 year old girls danced confidently to ‘Radha on the Dance Floor’ in front of a big cheering crowd and aced their choreography one tiny step at a time.

Next, our "Cutiepies" from Bollywood I Nimbus batch in their tutu skirts and smart pants grooved to the famous ‘Cutiepie’ song. Their cute smiles and bright eyes melted hearts all around. Our Bollywood 3 Nimbus group added some Bhangra swag with orange outfits and hand scarves while dancing to high energy track ‘Mauja hi Mauja’. Their energy was infectious and got the crowd tapping their feet to the beat.

Then came our BGC Bollywood 1 students who wowed the audience with ‘Radhe Radhe’ folk dance moves in gorgeous Krishna and Radha outfits. We are so proud of this 4-5 year old group, they did not miss a single beat and danced like they were born to be on stage. Adding an element of BollyHop to SDA's dance medley this evening, was our BGC Bollywood 3 students ended the JCfamilies Feministival on a high note with a power packed performance to the crowd favorite Badri Ki Dulhania. The confidence that these kids displayed on the stage was commendable and they left everyone cheering for more.

A huge shoutout to our Squad Junior student Sunay Rohatgi, who won the Juniors Dance and Movement competition at the Nimbus Arts Festival Youth Talent Showcase. Sunay won a Summer 2021 scholarship at Nimbus Arts Center. Kudos to our rising star and his SDA teachers Ms. Jessica and Mr. Rajul for grooming him.

We are extremely proud our talented students and can't wait for them to take the stage again. SDA would like to wholeheartedly thank each and every member of Team SDA, our students, their families and our wonderful JC community for coming out to support us and cheer on our performers. Thank you for making a memorable experience for our students and us so we can strive harder to create avenues for our students and share our passion and love for the Indian culture in Jersey City and beyond.