They have long hair, jangling bracelets and loose clothing, a far cry from your typical ballet or jazz dancers. The poise and elegance is similar, but the music and sensuality screams: “Bollywood”.

It’s a style of dance that has evolved from Indian blockbuster movies of the same name, famous for their bright clothes, kitsch dance numbers and plots centred around traditional romance. The moves are not so much individual as part of a greater picture, and add up over time to tell a story.

Instructor and master Indian dancer Maya Sapura (pictured) explains. “Bollywood is all about storytelling. It illustrates the lyrics of the songs. That is the main thing. For the rest you are free; there are no strict rules like with classical dances.” That kind of freedom is well expressed with the flicking of wrists, the jutting of hips and the shaking of shoulders. This is a full body and highly feminine dance. With facial expressions and occasional poses, Bollywood manages to be both graceful and upbeat, as women sashay, turn, freeze, smile and jiggle to music that is, sometimes literally, from Slumdog Millionaire.

That 2008 Oscar-winning movie accounts for some the increased interest in Indian style dancing. “When I started dancing, when I was only five, it was thought to be kitsch,” the 33-yearold Sapura says. “But now, opinion has changed. Perhaps because there are more Indian people in Europe. But really, I think people are discovering that when you dance, you feel happy afterwards. That is what I hear. People do it to feel good.”

The women begin the one-and-a-half-hour class by warming up barefoot in the centre of the room. Ranging in age from 11 to 50, the nine women all take turns at leading the group through Indianinspired moves. “We have students who went to India on holiday and loved it,” Sapura says. “Others saw the dance online or on TV or just want to spend time with a friend. And there are those who simply want to try something different than the mainstream.”

The diversity of the women in the room is evident and includes a mother and child, a few hippies, student friends and a handful of women who came straight from work. Whether slowly twisting their fingers into intricate and poised positions or double bouncing to the energetic beat, arms swooping around them, their expressiveness is clear.

After warming up, the quiet room becomes more animated as the women prepare for their routine. “Ringa Ringa” from Slumdog Millionaire starts its infectious beat, and the women begin thrusting their hips in unison before the chorus begins and chaos breaks out. They drop any last remaining shyness as they start waving their arms, rocking their legs and nodding their heads side to side. Rushing from one side of the room to the other, they are obviously trying to tell a story, but the plot that is most obvious is seen from the smiles when the instructor turns off the music. This is a dance that makes you happy.

The women quickly return to their starting positions and for the remaining half hour practice parts that are particularly tricky. The steps are relatively simple, but the overall dance is complicated and consists of many unrepeated movements. It is obvious who the teacher is, as she stands in front of her students, clad in white.

With messy brown hair, dangling earrings and multiple bangles and rings, the teacher looks like she could be easily overpowered by her layers, but everything works to accentuate the dance. The bells on her scarf, the flashes of silver on her wrists, the swirling skirt: it all tantalizes without revealing. Her angles are sharp, her curves seductive. Details like a tilted head all come together for a tight and powerful effect. Suddenly, Bollywood isn’t just in India anymore.

www.mayasaperadancecompany.com