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Assignment One Paper Cut

Vishal Kanoi Profile

The following interview is with an Indian choreographer who had just finished teaching a summer camp for high school dancers. Read the interview and make a paper cut, concentrating on Vishal as a choreographer. The finished story should be a profile of him, how he became a choreographer, why he choreographs and how. Read your cut aloud, slowly. It should be around three to five minutes in length.

Transcript for Vishal Kanoi, Choreogrpher

00:00:00 Vishal Kanoi

Hi, I'm Vishal Kanoi. I'm from India, Calcutta. I've been from Bombay, but it's been about six years for me in Calcutta where I have my own dance studio.

And I’m with my family there so Yep.

00:00:02 Vishal Kanoi

Indian weddings have a function just before the day of the wedding. We have a geetsamalin and that's like a musical evening presented by all the family members for the bride and the groom. So, for a couple of my cousins’ weddings, I used to sing.

Way go back like when I was about 8-9 ten years old.

I was tired of singing so like let me try something different this time. So, for a cousin's wedding, I try to dance.

And everybody loved that performance. The same evening. this was a casual affair. The same evening there was a party for about 3000 people, and they wanted me to do it there as well.

00:00:40 Vishal Kanoi

So that was like a confidence booster. After that I joined dance classes in Bombay. My teacher liked my work, so he picked me up in the junior company, Junior Dance company. I did Dil To Pagal Hai a movie with Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit. They're like big superstars in the Bollywood film industry.

From there on I joined the senior company and then I've been dancing all over the world with the dance company. I had performed with most of the Bollywood stars, the Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan. They're like Brad Pitt's and Sean Connery's of, probably Michael Douglas of our film industry or our Bollywood industry. So yeah, the journey has been eventful, and it's been fun, and I enjoy what I do.

00:00:00 Vishal Kanoi

City dance happened last year in November. I was in New York at Broadway Dance Center training there for about … I came for a 2 two and half month course there and my friend my very dear friend. Rashi has been in touch with Lorraine Spiegler, and they were trying to coordinate this workshop like probably two years back, but it never worked out because of our busy schedules.

But last time when I was in New York, Lorraine was quite excited to know that I was in America and it wouldn't take that much to just come down for the weekend, do master classes here and go back.

So that's what we did last year in November. I did 2 … 4 master classes here, as well as the sister concern school is in Madera.

00:00:49 Vishal Kanoi

I think, yeah, so that's where we had master classes as well, and fortunately everybody really enjoyed Bollywood and they welcomed it very very … They're very nice and they really enjoyed the Bollywood routine, so I guess that's why I'm here again for an entire month and I love it.

Though I missed my car here because DC is not so well connected. Not really DC. I mean I'm put up in Virginia, so I miss my car because the public transport is a little poor here, I guess.

00:00:38 Vishal Kanoi

00:00:00 Vishal Kanoi

Well, when I when I came in here the first time, like in this trip, the first day of my trip here, I played the song for them, and I asked them to do it for me and they remembered in bang on and so like wow.

But yes, they have been performing it all over all the time, so I guess that's why they knew it all very well.

00:00:01 Vishal Kanoi

Well, they were going through their jazz intensive camp. I think it was. It lasted for two weeks. They performed three shows they performed three shows. They performed 2 on the 15th outside in the open and one indoors for the parents. I think about over 600 guests watched the show on the 15th. There were two shows for about 300 each, and that's the number that Lorraine told me about we had a bunch of parents that came in in the studio on the 16 towards the kids. They were superb. The energy level here is so good. 

Though their schedules are very intense, they’re here from about 9:00 to 5:00 for sure, but then I guess because the last week was so intense and everyone was trying to trying to complete their pieces. 

00:00:52 Vishal Kanoi  

I had about five to six pieces that I had to complete with the kids within those 10 days because I just came in in DC on the 5th of August, and that's when I started with them, and we performed it on 15th already. So, within 10 days we tried to come up with the concept. Lorraine and I we we tried to keep the story line up around India and around Bollywood a little bit since I was here. So, she was kind enough to give me a lot of work to do here. While I was here. And those two weeks. 

How many hours I don't even know how many hours I've worked with the kids, but they are working so hard and …

00:01:32 Vishal Kanoi  

Even though they are here for the bus was coming to. Sorry. even though they here for so many hours they are putting in their best, they are putting in all what they have. 

OK, after a couple of hours they get tired. They get a little grumpy, so we know that. OK we need to give them a break. Quick quick bite for a thing and then come back and they will be fine so but yes, they're working very hard. They have such good potential. 

A couple of them are so good, like really, I I wish them all the very best for the future. I'm sure there's going to be very bright. 

00:00:00 Vishal Kanoi

How it worked here was we first came up with the concept. We had a story line. What we're trying to do, we knew where we are starting and where we're heading to.

So, there were sequences where we needed festival of lights. There was a sequence where we needed some celebration. There was a sequence where we were trying to show the lake. there was a sequence where we're trying to show that the golden goose gets captured.

There was a story line up and then eventually he's taken to the king and blah blah blah. So, each sequence, Then we go and pick a song.

So according to the song, we already know what we're trying to portray in that song, we know and then very quickly trying to make sense a little bit.

00:00:43 Vishal Kanoi

Keep the keep the movie. Keep the story line up in place that OK, this is what I'm trying to project with this dance sequence. And now what the music tells me about the stylizing of it is concerned because Bollywood really, really is a mix of various Western dance forms. Hip hop, jazz, rock and roll, Latin rhythms. Modern contemporary. So, it's fused with our traditional folk forms. That's bhangra garba, a little bit of Indian classical dancing, so it's an amalgamation of various transforms put together. Now Whatever the music tells me is. Is how my body wants to move is what we keep in mind while they were choreographing, though there the kids here, their physical abilities are so high that we didn't have to struggle Too much to try and keep the intensity low. Like, they were ready to take more and more, and so we were giving them more and more. So, we kept the level, I would call it at least advanced beginner level. Or maybe elementary if not elementary advanced. So, the level was very good.

Within two weeks to pick up all these Indian classical styles, also hats off.

Interviewer:

OK, so you pick this song and you come in here, you just make it up as you go? Or do you see the dance in your head?

00:02:36 Vishal Kanoi

I do plan it up a little bit while I'm I like to come planned prepared for my class so I will listen to the song.

But if I already picked the song up, I try to play it for them. If they react well to it, they like it because it's very important, If I'm performing it, I should connect with the song, I should like it. OK, yeah, you can't make everybody happy.

But at least most of them. I think everybody was OK with the songs that we picked because they were nice and groovy.

the ones we did in the jazz intensive were more energy based. Here, what we're doing now these two weeks I have a Camp going on again with them and this is more modern intensive, so we've because Bollywood is so varied, I wanted to use a different element here now, so this is very different. I wish you could see it. So, the camera could have this part as well in it, but I'm sure next week you can catch it. Yeah, so you hear the song whatever the songs. Giving you the feeling. that's what I want to project here. I come a little prepared for my class so that I'm not wasting time thinking right then.

00:03:13 Vishal Kanoi

Take ideas, flow. They don't flow. I don't know. Maybe I improvise in class of what I've already thought of, but yes, I only see the dance in my head before I actually come into it.

00:00:00 Vishal Kanoi

But yes, yes, I have. You have to improvise depending if it looks too easy for them, make it harder.

If it's too hard, make it easier whichever way. And like I said, it's something that you keep improvising the ideas keep flowing. If I thought of this and now, I certainly want to change it to this if it requires it, why not? So, I will do it.

00:00:00 Vishal Kanoi

We were just lucky that it worked out. I just call it pure luck because the first day I walked in I didn't know. we hadn't thought of the story line up or anything of that sort we hadn't met.

We were supposed to meet over the weekend, but somehow Lorraine couldn't find time, so we never ended up meeting. So, Monday morning was my class, so I did my class. I asked them what … which style would they really want to stay close to and they've all like hip hop, hip hop, hip hop so they all love hip hop, I guess.

So, we start to hip hop style and we did something with Bollywood, infused it with our Bollywood with it obviously and when Lorraine walked in, and I obviously didn't know If I was going to be able to use it on.

Because we didn't know the storyline about when Lorraine walked in and she loved the piece and she was like we have to use it, I said we don't even know what the theme is. So, unless we know what we're doing. so, it kind of fit in in our celebration. Likely because celebration is happy and the song we picked then was also talking about everybody. Join us on the dance floor in so it, its kind of just worked for us.

I guess it was luck that that worked here, so an hour and a half work did not go waste, and there's probably I'd be struggling again for the for the little time that I had to try and finish the pieces.

00:00:00 Vishal Kanoi

Bollywood is really is not a dance form. Bollywood is the film industry. A couple of people in the industry don't even like to call it Bollywood, really. It's they call it the Indian film industry, but it's just Commercially and popularly known as Bollywood. So, like Hollywood, the film industry here, we have Bollywood there. Bollywood dance form. Why? Because it's so … Our films have dance sequences and songs in it. Each film should at least have about 6 to 8 tracks and we love color. We love dancing. We love running around the trees. We love all of all the drama. So that is what is used in the film.

00:00:47 Vishal Kanoi

So now films are. They have a big influence in our lives in (talking to cameraman)

Sorry, coming back to Bollywood.

00:00:00 Vishal Kanoi

So, Bollywood really is not a dance form. It's the film industry. And since our movies have About 6 to 8 tracks. There is lot of dancing. There's a lot of drama there. Lots of mixed emotions that we try to portray in our movies. So, the movies have a big influence on our lifestyles in India. So, the dance sequences used there have a mix of everything.

00:00:31 Vishal Kanoi

The West is definitely has a great influence on our films as well, on our lifestyles back home. So, like you can clearly see we speak very clear and good English, so we have English movies we have English in our schools, and I think that's also to do with the British ruling on us and all of that so.

That being apart. What were we talking about? I'm lost.

00:00:03 Vishal Kanoi

Like you could differentiate between hip hop and modern and modern and Latin as in salsa, and each style is different. Bollywood has its own elements as we spoke about.

Hip hop, Latin rhythms, all the other Western dance forms are infused with our folk forms so we will not lose our originality.

Also, as in you will see a lot of bhangra, you will see a lot of a lot of garba in it and you'll see those hands.

So, it is very it's very different from … it will have the elements, but I think it's very easily spotable. How you ask me? I'm not being able to answer your question really is.

You’re trying to know that how can I tell that it's a Bollywood dance sequence? Hey, obviously the music, because if I'm trying to do a Bollywood dance to a Hip hop song. A hip-hop English song. It might not make sense like if I try to do a salsa song to salsa dance to a modern number.

00:01:01 Vishal Kanoi

It might not make sense. OK, every choreographer has his own vision, but still, I have to stay with the music and do what the music tells me to do.

How I would tell it's Bollywood? I think it's like you would tell in in between any other dance styles. It has its own area. It has its own elements which are which are very easily spottable. the folk forms the music, the hands, the whole structure of it. I think it's very evident, it's. It's going to be clear for us

00:00:00 Vishal Kanoi

Each state in India has their own local native dance forms. There are several castes. Every caste has their own folk dance form. So, there is Rajasthani dancing that is guemmer. There is Punjabis who have bhangra that's very common, Is very popular. I think most popular of all I guess, and there is Garba. There is ODC dancing there is Kathak, so there are several dance forms within India.

And then we've taken it from the West as well. So, we have abundance of dance styles. The music composers keep that in mind. I think when they … even when they're composing for a movie where they will use different elements to make each track sound different within the film so the choreographers can also play with it. So, within a film within a Bollywood film. I think you would find Yourself crying. You see yourself laughing. You see a lot of action. You will see a lot of drama.

So, I think a Hindi movie and Indian Bollywood movie would have a mix of several items that once you finish, I think you've had a taste of everything. It's almost like a 3/3 hour Movies Now they change the hours. It could be a 2 hour movie. Also, I think 3 1/2.

00:01:29 Vishal Kanoi

Four I've seen is like the longest film I've seen in a Bollywood film, but three are like that's like something that you can really look for is a 3 hour film. So, we have so many packages. So many things packaged in in one film and trying to portray that.

00:00:01 Vishal Kanoi

I do know that. Quite a few of these Bollywood stars have gotten very famous. Out here as well because like earlier our premieres of the movies used to happen only in India. Mainly in Bombay.

And couple of movies would do it other cities also. But now lots of more local styles go and open the film out abroad like we had (Indian Film Title) opening in London I think if I'm not mistaken, we had we had Mr. Shahrukh Khan who keeps doing his films everywhere abroad also. So, and these tour that they do are very popular. They have these musicals that they present.

00:00:44 Vishal Kanoi

A couple of Bollywood stars get together and they put up like an hour and a half, two or three hours show Which is Just Dance and music. And they are running housefull, so I'm not really sure about. I wouldn't be able to tell if they are popular here.

Obviously, they won't be as popular as American movies like American movies are popular back home, but they're obviously not as popular as our Bollywood films. Likewise, I think same goes for here.

00:01:14 Vishal Kanoi

And but the stars are definitely very popular. There are Indians all over the world. That plus at the same time when I did master classes, even in New York, even here it was open classes and I had lots of non Indians. Lots of people from all over who came and took it, so it's not just Indians who are who are getting inclined towards Bollywood. I think it is growing all over.

00:01:42 Vishal Kanoi

As far as the popularity is concerned, I guess, You guys are just missing out if you're not watching it.

00:00:01 Vishal Kanoi

While I give importance to technique, Bollywood dancing pays a lot of attention and importance to performance, which I kind of miss with the dancers here. They're very good dancers, great lines, great perfection. Incredible stretch, but they miss out on stage presence and emoting, what. I'm not just expecting that out of my Bollywood songs because obviously they don't know what we're trying to say in that song. They don't know the lyrics, but even in their in their songs and in their pieces that they did because the first two weeks just had not only my sequences, but they also had several other choreographers Who worked very hard with the kids. and the only thing I missed was the feeling and the emotions coming out. That is one thing,

Like a hip hop dancer does not necessarily have to be a very good salsa dancer, and likewise for any other style. like every dancer has would.

It's great to be versatile. It's good nowadays. Most of the dancers are trying all the dance styles, various dance styles, rather. But it is not possible that you're going to excel in each one of them, because each style is so different from the other. If they did a lot more of Bollywood, I'm sure they'll get so much. So much, so much, so much better. What I miss is a little bit of the energy level as well in the sense of … our folk forms. Have that like if I'm doing a bhangra, their shoulder would suddenly become just ... (demonstrates move)

00:01:45 Vishal Kanoi

I want this. (Demonstrates move)

You know I want it to be more fun. I want it to be more relaxed.

Maybe because it's new for them. Maybe it's… it's just a little time that we had also to work so much on so I could give them the benefit of doubt. But it's just that a little bit of Loosening up a little bit and the emotions. And they're going to be fine.

00:00:01 Vishal Kanoi

Yes, I have a dance studio in Calcutta, and we have classes from ages 4 to 64. It's broken into various age groups, and we do various dance styles. We also have the Jazz and the hip hops and the salsa routines. We have a Bollywood dancing. We do our annual Productions, which is generally held over summer.

It's usually held in second week of June. I just got married a month back, so that's my beautiful wife there. And yeah, so we had to skip around in production this year. Probably try and do it in winter sometime. Let's see. Hope it works out.

00:00:01 Vishal Kanoi

We did the Ganesha. Ganesha is the elephant God like you would know him.

We think of him before We start anything new. He's kind of the God we think of who will help us sail through no matter whatever has to come. It will help us fight all the difficulties. So, he's the Lord we think of before starting anything new, so it worked very well. We start … since the show was around Bollywood and around In India, so we wanted to start with him, and we used the candles in it as a prop. So, candles are used to worship plus the story which Lorraine came up with was starting off with Diwali. The festival of lights. So, we used lights. We used Ganesha and we danced To Ganesh bhangra, that's like praying to Ganesha Lord. so it worked with that. we had a little bit of Indian classical dancing in there fused with our props.

So, so that worked, and then we had the medley of Songs, two songs that I had taught them In November, when I came in for in the master classes, so we used that.

It Went into ninachali, again a little bit of clubhouse, club bhangra, kind of music which in which I use what Bollywood really is. We did a little bit of hip hop with little bit of locking a little bit of bhangra we did modern. In there we did salsa in there. so we try to like put in all the various dance forms in it for like small, small, small segments.

Each group came, did that thing, went away, did another dance style went away. So since we were starting off and we're trying to stay say Bollywood is. Try to do that with that song. Then the story moved forward with other choreographers.

Then we had a segment where we were trying to show Strength and Persistence and lots of confidence where we would think of Lord Hanuman.

00:02:18 Vishal Kanoi

And we had this very talented dancer from the City Dance Company. I think City Dance Company 2, or I don't know really the specifics. That's Sidney who came in and Lorraine and myself worked only for about half an hour. 40 minutes with him and we tried to choreograph his routine and He was.

He really was Hanuman because Hanuman could actually fly and this guy would be just jumping in the air all the time and he was so good with his jumps that it was really a pleasure and actually an honor to choreograph him because he's so talented, so humble and he worked so hard for this 40 minutes I made him do several things and he's like Oh yeah I can do this. Oh Yeah, I can do this and then we just came up with the routine. So it was like a minute and a half routine choreographed within 30-40 minutes.

00:03:06 Vishal Kanoi

And it was great fun doing that with him. That was that. Then we came to the celebration medley, I think where we where we used, uh A little bit of hip hop. A little bit of bhangra and we did a dance sequence with the sticks. The stick dance. Unfortunately we couldn't find sticks, so we just didn't have the sticks, but we still pretended to have it and We did the Garba and Dandiya that's the stick dance. It's from Gujarat. It's the dance of the Gujarati, but it's popular so we have … We did that and we ended with that, so it was good fun. We tried to use various dance styles. We put in a mix of everything and Presented to the audience. so they know, Yes, Bollywood is very varied.

Try to keep the energy alive.

00:00:00 Interviewer

Who are some of? The people who influenced you. I mean like, what do you think of dancers? Who are the ones that you think of?

00:00:14 Vishal Kanoi

I have to mention my dance group first is. There was there was a guy called Rakesh who started off.

With me for my cousins’ weddings song that I presented.

And then Mr. Shawber, he's one of the finest choreographers in India right now. Mr. Frank Hatchett. I worked with him in New York at the Bourbon Center extensively. several choreographers there, where they all taught me.

pop icons and movie icons would be Shammi Kapoor. That's the Elvis Presley of India. He's with his rock and roll. Of course. Michael Jackson, I think. Every dancer has some influence of him all the time, like somewhere or the other. Everyone wants to be like him.

00:00:01 Vishal Kanoi

Different icons, yeah, but.

These mainly and anybody and everybody because as a dancer and as a choreographer you look at animals and you come up with things. You look at some sport going on. You come up with things, so anything I think I'm an observant person and I kind of Can grasp and grab things a little faster, I think. it works for me and I like to look around. I like to keep my eyes open and just be aware of my surroundings so that helps in getting your new inspiration and in trying to do different things and new things, so it works for me. I learn while I'm teaching in my classes because every individual has their own style. And sometimes I'm like, oh OK, I like that, so.

I like people who improvise on those things. Sticking to what we're trying to do because it's a class and we want to be with the group because as a dancer it's very important that you know how to be with the group and work in a group.

But yeah, anything and everything inspires.

00:00:01 Vishal Kanoi

I'm not just a choreographer. I am a performer. I am a choreographer. I am a teacher.

I run my dance studio, so I perform as well. We perform at our annual functions, and we have some corporate events going on, so we do perform. Everywhere.

Let's do this again.

I am a performer, choreographer, teacher so.

How do I see myself as a choreographer is?

I take it.

I don't know what I'm doing.

Come again well.

00:00:50 interviewer

What inspires you to choreograph? Why do you want to perform? Why do you want to choreograph? What do you Get out of that?

00:01:03 Vishal Kanoi

I love to see the happy faces at the end of the class.

Certain compliments comments that come in after classes from like a ladies class are like oh Vishal. Thank you so much. I don't know when did I have so much fun last. Stuff like that gets you going.

I'm from I'm a businessman son. So way back when I was about 10-11 years old when I started this as a as a junior company dancer in in the dance company.

00:01:42 Vishal Kanoi

A few of my uncles were not too happy about it, so they kind of objected with my father and my father was like, well, he's happy in what he's doing, and he is in the right hands and he's finding where he is and it's an art form which is, which is a gift of God. I wouldn't want to waste it just because some people in the society don't think likewise.

They are my major supports. my parents because of whom I could do what I wanted to do.

This is something which gives me immense joy and immense pleasure. It makes me happy. This is who I am. I don't know if I can do anything else other than dance and choreograph and perform because I love the stage.

I love the spotlight when I'm on stage. When I'm off the stage I am a little different kind of person. when I'm in command I think I'm fine. When I'm not I think I have my own shy side.

00:02:38 Vishal Kanoi

I’ve a Shell that I have around me probably can't crack in very easily.

Often mistaken to be as arrogance and snob, but I don't think that's it. It's just difficult for me to make the first move. Though I’ve gotten much better like if you if you'd be taking this interview two years back, I'd be like (covers mouth), so I think I'm getting better with my talking skills. as a choreographer, that's what I am. That's who I am. I don't see myself for doing anything else.

That's why I do it.

00:00:00 Vishal Kanoi

Uh, thank you very much city dance for having me. Thank you, Lorraine. Thank you Rashi. Thanks a lot bill for taking time out and doing this documentary on Bollywood with I'm sure lots of people are going to see this and be more aware about Bollywood now and.

It's been fun to have you run every time. I remember during the second show in the in the outdoor thing We’re watching the show and then suddenly.

I look around and I'm like oh **** Bill is filming me. Oh my God, I didn't know because like I said, the conscious part of me is still there.

I'd be like oh now I don't know where to look and handle it. So that was fun. It was like you had your eyes on me all the time, so it was great. Thank you, Pauline, for driving me back from the airport.

It was very sweet. All the kids, all the dancers. They've worked so hard it's great. I just I just love love being in the studio and working with them.

Unfortunately, the coming week is not so intense for me. I don't have that much of time with these kids, so I think I'm going to miss it.

And another week, and then I'm back to India. So looking forward for that. But yes, I will miss Washington and hopefully this will happen next year.

Well, so looking forward. All the best.