<p>A team of 60 dancers, who qualified in the Dance World Cup India qualifiers, held in the city a while ago, are now preparing to compete in the final round. It will be held from June 22 to July 1 at Sitges in Spain. </p>.<p>The participants from Bengaluru bagged 20 awards and are now ready to compete in the final round.</p>.<p>Salsa dancer Lourd Vijay, who had organised the qualifiers with the Indian Society for Performers and Teachers of Dance, says, “I decided to host the India qualifiers because I wanted more dancers to gain exposure and experience. I want the young dancers from here to go abroad and watch the different dance groups around the world.”</p>.<p>The participants were aged between four and 25 years.</p>.<p>The dancers who are going for the final round are an excited bunch and were eager to talk about their preparations for the final round. </p>.<p>Nineteen-year-old Anirudh Gopinath, a student of International Institute of Hotel Management, won the gold medal in the national folk solo category and scored 91 out of 100.</p>.<p>He says, “I heard of this competition three years ago and since then it has been my dream to compete in this event. I have worked really hard. I had rehearsals at night since I had college during the day. I have mixed a lot of Indian styles in my performance, including bharathanatyam, kathak and kuchipudi. The judges noticed the confidence in my body language and performance. I think that is what made my performance unique.”</p>.<p>Anirudh has been training in bharathanatyam for a couple of years now and looks up to his mentor and trainer Sanjay Shantaram.</p>.<p>Sharing her perspective, 15-year-old Ketaki Vaze was the first runner-up in the junior hip-hop solo category. She says, “I had showcased a new technique that I learnt from my friends called ‘popping’. This is the third time that I am participating in the finals. My coach and trainer Bee Kay Bharathi Kanan encouraged me to focus <br />on my performance and remain calm.” </p>.<p>The team from India going to Spain have participants from Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Gurgaon and Vijaywada. </p>
<p>A team of 60 dancers, who qualified in the Dance World Cup India qualifiers, held in the city a while ago, are now preparing to compete in the final round. It will be held from June 22 to July 1 at Sitges in Spain. </p>.<p>The participants from Bengaluru bagged 20 awards and are now ready to compete in the final round.</p>.<p>Salsa dancer Lourd Vijay, who had organised the qualifiers with the Indian Society for Performers and Teachers of Dance, says, “I decided to host the India qualifiers because I wanted more dancers to gain exposure and experience. I want the young dancers from here to go abroad and watch the different dance groups around the world.”</p>.<p>The participants were aged between four and 25 years.</p>.<p>The dancers who are going for the final round are an excited bunch and were eager to talk about their preparations for the final round. </p>.<p>Nineteen-year-old Anirudh Gopinath, a student of International Institute of Hotel Management, won the gold medal in the national folk solo category and scored 91 out of 100.</p>.<p>He says, “I heard of this competition three years ago and since then it has been my dream to compete in this event. I have worked really hard. I had rehearsals at night since I had college during the day. I have mixed a lot of Indian styles in my performance, including bharathanatyam, kathak and kuchipudi. The judges noticed the confidence in my body language and performance. I think that is what made my performance unique.”</p>.<p>Anirudh has been training in bharathanatyam for a couple of years now and looks up to his mentor and trainer Sanjay Shantaram.</p>.<p>Sharing her perspective, 15-year-old Ketaki Vaze was the first runner-up in the junior hip-hop solo category. She says, “I had showcased a new technique that I learnt from my friends called ‘popping’. This is the third time that I am participating in the finals. My coach and trainer Bee Kay Bharathi Kanan encouraged me to focus <br />on my performance and remain calm.” </p>.<p>The team from India going to Spain have participants from Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Gurgaon and Vijaywada. </p>