Murphy – International Dance Day, April 29, is actually the birthday of one particular dancer, who dedicated his life to one specific type of dance. Jean-Georges Noverre. Jean-Georges, who died in 1810 and is considered the father of modern, classical ballet.
The Cherokee County Arts Council chose to celebrate in a more flamboyant way when they invited local resident Anita Nieva-Rosas to teach a Bollywood dance class in their cool blue studio Saturday. Nieva-Rosas came to Murphy from her native Argentina the old-fashioned way.
“I fell in love with a Murphy man,” she said with a laugh.
Adding texture to the international day, Nieva-Rosas, who grew up in the mountainous town of Salta in northern Argentina, learned to traditional folk Indian dancing from a group of girlfriends there.
“I love Indian dances,” she said, “They are so fun; they put you in a mood.”
Nieva-Rosas and her Argentinian friends danced the traditional Bhaungra dance from Punjab.
“But the class I’m teaching here is Bollywood dancing,” she said.
Bollywood is Indian’s film center named after Mumbia’s former name: Bombay merged with Hollywood.
“These dances are a fusion of classic Indian, Latin, belly-dancing and hip-hop,” she said while holding decorative batons in each hand.
“These are called dandija,” she added with a smile, holding them above her head. “And they represent the swords the divine feminine uses when battling evil.
“This is why I love traditional dances. They tell a story,” she said, gracefully waving the dandija.
Nieva-Rosas became a certified BollyX instructor from the Bollywood Dance Fitness program. After demonstrating
some dance steps, which included intricate hand motions and slapping the sticks onto the floor with some consider force, plus some energetic hop-stepping, she sat down.
“It’s very physical,” she said with a laugh, catching her breath. “These dances are often performed in a circle. We consider circle dancing good, positive energy, plus you get to see everybody’s faces.”
The arts council hosted the class for free; for details, visit CherokeeCountyArtsCouncil.org. For details about dance classes, email ana.nievarosas@gmail.com.