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NORTH AmERIcAN Newsline MARCH 12, 2021 | The Indian Eye 28
fia announces winners of dance Pe Chance
solo danCe ComPetition 2021
The event, held over two weekends, was organized entirely online
Our Bureau Among the adult participants, Shreya
Baral got the first prize, with Kiran Kumar
New York Jandhyala at the second and Carol Chet-
inners of the finale of the 37th tiar at the third place.
edition of the annual Dance Pe Now, applications for the next edition
WChance solo dance competi- of DPC will begin on October 1 this year,
tion 2021, organized by the Federation FIA NY NJ CT president Anil Bansal
of Indian Associations NY NJ CT, were announced. On the recently concluded
announced on February 23. They were event, he said, “We are proud of our team
selected from across four categories of for putting together such a wonderful
participants—minor, junior, senior and program and of all the children and their
adult. The event, part of the 72nd Indian parents who have worked hard on their
Republic Day celebration, was organized performances. FIA is committed to pro-
over a span of two weekends. The audi- moting and encouraging our next-genera-
tions were held on February 13 and 14, tion children, artists and performers, while
while the finals were on February 20 and 21. promoting our culture and to reinforce our
Started nearly four decades ago, DPC commitment, we are increasing the first
has had approximately 20,000 participants prize from $2,000 to 5,000 for next year.”
till now, who have showcased their Bolly- Ankur Vaidya, Chairman of FIA NY
wood dancing skills. This time, the event NJ CT, said, “Dance pe Chance, also
was organized virtually due to the pan- America’s Best Bollywood Dancer and
demic, but the excitement within the com- FIA’s almost 4-decade-old Republic Day
munity was intact. Thanks to the efforts celebration platform, was forced to be-
of the entire team and the enthusiasm of come virtual due to the pandemic. The
the participants, DPC 2021, also Ameri- contest was held in strict compliance with
ca’s Best Bollywood Dancer, became the CDC guidelines and Covid-related man-
biggest online reality show in America in dates. It is indeed a privilege to see a sin-
Covid times. cerely dedicated and 100% voluntary ef-
The contest started out with 200 par- fort placed to showcase our community’s
ticipants in the auditions, of which 26 were talent. Congratulations to all the partici-
selected for the finale. Celebrity judges for pants for an entertaining competition and
the final round were well-known Indian ac- kudos to the entire team for the impres-
tress and dancer Sudha Chandran, South sive show.”
Indian actress and Kuchipudi dancer Laya Expressing gratitude to the team of
Gorty and Bollywood choreographer volunteers who worked tirelessly round
Feroz Khan. Expert judges included cho- the clock, DPC chair 2021 and vice-pres-
reographers and dancers Swati Vaishnav, ident of FIA NY NJ CT, Saurin Parikh,
Prashasti Majmundar and Anil Diwakar. said, “The response has been overwhelm-
ing and performances were above par. I
the winners
would like to congratulate all the partici-
Rayan Siddamsettiwar was adjudged pants, who are all winners for coming out
the best in the minor category, followed of their comfort zone and performing so
by Nayan Nampally and Dhilan Shetty at well despite the limitations caused by the
the second and third positions pandemic.”
In the junior category, Ria Jain bagged Parveen Bansal, secretary of the fed-
the first prize, while Arya Prasad and Sim- eration, said, “We are happy that despite
one Shah took home the second and third the current pandemic situation and limita-
prizes respectively. Ria was also adjudged tions, we continued our 37 years old tra-
America’s Best Bollywood Dancer. dition of celebrating India’s Republic Day
Keshav Agiwal was ranked first in the with a dance competition in the USA. In
senior category. Diya Bhatt was at the these challenging times, we needed to be
second and Riya Chaturvedi at the third innovative and improve our plans almost
place in the same category. every day.”
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