Taylor Swift's choreographers hold a dance workshop in Delhi

Popping, locking and talking with Taylor Swift & Wiz Khalifa’s choreographers Matt Steffanina & Dana Alexa

Hip-hop lovers in the capital got to work on their popping and locking skills when choreographer duo Matt Steffanina and Dana Alexa, of So You Think You Can Dance fame, came to Delhi to hold a dance workshop. The two-day session, which was part of their world tour, had dancers in the city slog it out for five hours at a stretch.

Shivangi Negi, a 16-year-old student from St Thomas School who attended the workshop, said, “I’ve been dancing since I was seven years old. I haven’t had any professional training, but I watch a lot of dance shows. I first saw Matt and Dana when they were on So You Think You Can Dance. After that, I’ve been following their videos and tutorials, and was extremely happy that they came to Delhi. We danced non-stop from 3pm
to 8pm!”

‘We’re here for matt’

It seemed as if most of the dancers were there for Matt, thanks to his dance videos online. Shilpa and Amit, who were there with their daughters Sukriti and Anusha, told us, “They’re both crazy about Matt and keep watching his videos all day. We’re here to support them because we know how passionate they are. It’s been hours and they haven’t even gotten a break.” Astha Vishvakarma, a 16-year-old student from Carmel Convent School, said, “I’ve been dabbling in hip-hop, jazz and contemporary dance since I was eight. Hip-hop is really catching on in the city, especially with access to videos like the ones Matt and Dana upload. I’ve learnt a lot from them.”
Matt was welcomed on stage with loud cheers and hoots from everyone. Kalyani Kumar, a 17-year-old student from Amity, Noida, said, “I’ve been learning dance since I was six years old. These days, I go through videos online and pick up steps from there. We danced the whole day and were still sore when we came back for the second of the workshop!”

‘parents want me to be a doctor, but dancing is my passion’

Angella Gaur, a 19-year-old Bharatnatyam student from Dehradun, said, “My family is against me taking up dance as a career. They want me to become a doctor or engineer, but dancing is my passion and I don’t plan to leave it. I took a break from Bharatnatyam to learn some contemporary and hip-hop. I was hooked! My Bharatnatyam regime is quite strict, I had to lie to my guruji to come here, but I’m glad I did. I learnt a lot and even went back home and practiced. I can’t wait to mix Bharatnatyam steps with hip-hop.”