Venkat Raman
Guests at the forthcoming Indian Newslink Indian Sports Awards Presentation Night 2015 will have a pleasant opportunity of experiencing the lilting music and scintillating dances of a fast-growing local band.
The ’50/50 Dance Crew’ will be a part of the scene at our event on Saturday, April 22, at Alexandra Park in Greenlane, Auckland.
Peculiar name
If you thought this is a bunch of ‘wasters’ who spend all their time in and out of night clubs, discos and parties, you would be the farthest from truth.
Among them are doctors, engineers, accountants and pilots – a professional group with high-end qualifications that have amused many.
Rahul Chopra, the founder-leader of the fusion dance team said that 50/50 Dance Crew has a unique story to narrate since 2006, the year in which it was established.
If the name sounds unusual, so is the group in its approach to music, dance and life itself. As a ‘Kiwi Indian’ band, the group blends the East and the West, plays both Indian and ‘other-than Indian’ dance and music and hence decided on being half here and half there.
“The band began with a group of Mt Roskill Grammar School boys who wanted to experiment with dancing. We participated in a number of dance competitions in school and strengthened our bond. After completing our school career, we did not want to give up our talent and passion for dance and hence continued to perform,” he said.
Those on the music and dance scene would know them as ‘The Garagewalas.’
Contests winners
The 50/50 Dance Crew came under the spotlight as it won a number of competitions, the most significant of which was the ‘Dance NZ Dance’ Competition 2014. They emerged as the winners and instantly became the talk of the town.
Among the shows that earned them fame were the ‘Australasian Bhangra Championship’ held in Melbourne and ‘New Zealand has got Talent,’ at which the group was ranked among the top 20 semi-finalists.
Time factor
“People often complain of not having enough time to pursue their interests. We believe it is just an excuse for not doing anything. Even as we pursue our careers as professionals in various fields, we hope to make it big in show business and take our talent to Europe, America and Canada,” Rahul said.
The 50/50 Dance Crew is keen to promote fitness and wellbeing of people through courses, programmes and even dancing.
“We hope to entertain guests at the Indian Newslink Indian Sports Awards Presentation Night and make people smile and enjoy,” Rahul said.
