This World Dance Day will be a special one for the students of St. Catherine of Siena School and Orphange. The students will be performing traditional Gujarati folk dance choreographed by the Sonis School Of Garba Dance.
12 girls and 4 boys between ages 8-12 will perform the dance on a special folk song, the steps of which have been taught by Jigar and Suhrad Soni, founders of Sonis School of Garba Dance on their Garba night called 'Re-Live' Navratri organised by the dance school every month.
9 year old Shabbo who has always been loving dancing. She wanted to learn some sort of dance form and perform somewhere in front of an audience. Her dream came true when she got to learn from the Soni brothers and now can not just dance but is ready to give a fantastic Garba performance. "I enjoyed learning Garba. I only knew a little about it, but Jigar sir has taught me so much. I want to learn more," she said.
Jigar Soni, mentor and founder of SSGD said that kids are always quick learners. "Be it any dance form, kids always absorb steps quickly. I was surprised to see these students at St Catherine's, that with little or no knowledge about this dance form, they learnt Garba steps so fast. I am proud of all of them with the kind of dedication they have shown towards learning," he said.
Suhrad Soni, the co-founder and mentor of SSGD said that teaching kids is the most special thing for them especially for World Dance Day. "The amount of love we have gotten from these children is overwhelming. These kids have made World Dance Day special not just for them but for us as well as we look forward to their performance," he shared.
Innovative Concept of 'Re-Live' Navratri
To beat the notion that Garba can only be performed in Navratri, SSGD, has for the first time, introduced the concept of 'Re-Live Navratri', where not just students of SSGD but everyone is welcome to be a part of the celebration. This is a fresh change for those who love Garba and Dandiya but only get to dance during Navratri.
About SSGD
Both being proud Gujaratis, the founders and mentors Jigar and Suhrad have contributed to the Indian culture largely, and for this, they were honoured by the Member of Parliament in United Kingdom Bob Blackman on September 2017 at the House of Commons in UK’s parliament house.
SSGD has been recognized by UNESCO for its contribution to Indian folk dance culture and has performed in United Nations as well. The Soni brothers were invited to perform at the Trafalgar Square by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
Sonis School of Garba Dance, that started about 20 years ago is the world's biggest Garba dance school based in Mumbai. They have taught more than 10,000 students across the world. SSGD has its presence worldwide in countries like UK, UAE, Switzerland, Ireland and USA.
They recently bagged the Transmedia awards as “Best Dance Directors” for Gujarati movie “Mad for Each Other” in February 2018.
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