His swagger and vanity make him stand out in the bunch of choreographers. But as Terence Lewis himself says, he is still a practising dancer. Lewis emerged on the scene with Lagaan and Naach , and impressed by bringing contemporary dance forms to Bollywood idiom. Having successfully choreographed Broadway musicals, ad films and music videos, Lewis is now mentoring youngsters through reality shows. The latest being the ongoing So You Think You Can Dance – Ab India Ki Baari on &TV.
Trained in jazz, ballet and contemporary dance at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance in New York, Terence now trains and coaches others to take up dancing.
In a chat, he reminisces about his training, films, fitness and emerging forms of dance.
Tells us about the new dance forms coming to India
New dance forms are being constantly invented. Now it is Heels with boys dancing on high heels, six inches and doing everything that a girl does but ten times better! So the whole element of being a girl, called girly hip-hop is quite interesting with many guys taking to it and transforming it into an art form. Then there is Waacking and Voguing which are very popular. Also there is Liquid popping and robotic and animation. It is really hard to say what style is going to be popular because everything is on the Internet.
How does one dance form flow into another?
Well, if its contemporary dance, it does flow otherwise it doesn't. Contemporary is like soda, you can mix it with any drink. It is like sugar which is needed to make any dessert. So this form is a great mix because it has no definite form of its own but it has a definite technique. Contemporary has only one principle that it has to be organic which means you cannot force the movement –– it has to come from a place of initiation. You need to know where you initiate the movement and then let it take over. And from there you create another pattern. So it is like setting something in motion with a certain velocity and see it evolve and take its own shapes and patterns. Now in that you can integrate classical, hip-hop, salsa, any dance style and make it look completely different because the technique of contemporary is that that you can mix anything.
What are your memories of “Lagaan”?
Lagaan was very difficult simply because I was inexperienced. I didn't know a thing about camera. I knew dancing but nothing about camera so it was very difficult because I was wondering how I am going to shoot this. Fortunately, Anil Mehta and Ashutosh Gowariker were there. Ashutoshji said, ‘Don’t worry so much. You dance and we will shoot.’ I was okay but then wondered how long can I continue like this? So I observed them taking the shots and learnt the camera angles, the cut point, editing, when to cut and when to close up etc. The sensibility was taught by them made me realise that you need to have those small things in place if you want to become a film choreographer. So it is not about choreography or dancing, it is about capturing it on camera the element you want to show.
You are known to be conscious about fitness unlike other choreographers Saroj Khan and Ganesh Acharya. Please comment?
I am often asked this question. I would like to point out that Saroj Khanji and Ganesh Acharyaji are choreographers and do not need to dance. What they are required to do is choreography which requires application of mind. They tell their assistants who do the needful. So I don’t see any reason in why a choreographer needs to be compulsorily fit. They are there to visualise how the dance will look and make sure that the actor (s) looks good. The reason why people like Remo and me are fit is simply because we perform and dance a lot on stage. I have not quit dancing. In fact I have quit choreographing for films but not dancing. People go from dancing to teaching to choreography and then retire. I want to do the reverse. Having started with choreography and teaching and I want to go back to dancing because that is where my heart is.
Tell us about the new dance forms in 'So You Think You Can Dance'.
We did zouk and also some folk dances from Russia and those of India. We have done Chhau and Mayurbhanj Chhau.
Will you like to reflect on your association with Parvez Shetty who introduced you to dance?
I was 10 or 12 when I met her and received the first prize from for a dance competition and she told me that I was the best of the worst. Feeling insulted, I asked her why? She said I was confident, had the swagger but was technically zero. To me the word technique didn't exist because we saw a dance and copied it. She said no there is a technique for everything including how you stand. She explained it was because I did not have access to training and asked me to attend her classes. I trained with her for three months and that kind of really exploded my head. She was directing a New Year show and I would observe her and go and practice at home. Just before the show, one of the participants dropped out and I volunteered. Surprised, Parvez asked if I knew the steps? I said yes and asked for one day to polish my act. The next day she was impressed and said that I was hungry. It is much later I realised what she meant –– you need to be hungry to grow. I want to meet her and thank her for what she contributed to my life.
Published - June 19, 2016 06:36 pm IST
