The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Yuppies click on the dance floor

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 24, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Yuppies click on the dance floor

M.L. Melly Maitreyi

An MNC is on the `idol' hunt. The employees are only too glad to respond

HYDERABAD: It's time for employees of a multi-national company to slip into their dancing shoes and burn the dance floor. Initially, visions of two left feet loomed. Not for long, though.

A contest on the lines of `Indian Idol' to choose the company's own `national idol' from among its employees across the country was a challenge they couldn't resist. Coaxed by colleagues and bosses, they had little choice, really. Thus began their tryst with dance, every evening after office hours.

Pains and gains

Confess Vivek and Sravan, recalling the first day, "it was a disaster. Our bodies were so stiff. Forget rhythm, we could barely move." Overcoming body aches, the duo persisted. Says their trainer Mudassar at Rang Manch, a dance studio, "they have come a long way in one week."

The group assembles for the practice despite pouring rain.

"We find the experience great, absolutely relaxing." Practising for a popular Hindi movie number, the team lets itself go. "It is a welcome break from our high pressure jobs, almost therapeutic," add Pavan and Kalyan.

The music starts and they go through the steps all over again, expression and movements in perfect sync. "We are already different persons, more confident and in better spirits. We want to take our branch to the national level," they say.

Jive better than gym

"I find this a better exercise," says Prasad who is into bodybuilding. Gyms can be boring. Not so, with dancing! "I have never been on stage. I have to thank my boss for pushing me into this," says team leader Sravan.

Women employees, too, endorse this. "Once an employee, you lose that carefree attitude, more so in a competitive market. But this has given us back our student days," declares Leena. The classes are competitive and unbridled fun. They tease one another for missing a step only to fall in line again.

Weight loss too

Taking a break, wiping their sweat, they confess: "It's never easy initially. I always loved to dance but never had the guts. Now there are no inhibitions and I feel good about myself," Anitha reveals.

"It's a great way to forget all tensions and to be in shape too," chirps Latha who happily shed some weight thanks to the sessions under the watchful eyes of Ambika. "C'mon, put more energy, swing a bit more, and enjoy your steps," she hollers and the group obliges.

Their next stop er... hop could well be the neighbourhood discotheque, a remix version of Abba's `Dancing queen' summing up their spirit: `You are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen; You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life...'

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