‘Why Dance is the Soul of My Life’ - Terence Lewis, Dancer, Choreographer

Known as the encyclopedia of dancing, choreographer Terence Lewis made Indore dance on his tunes at the India Today Mind Rocks Indore. Been in the industry for 20 years, Terence says that he is still learning to perfect his moves. The ace choreographer also has a dance academy where he teaches his students the technicalities of dancing.

His thoughts over dance and choreography, as he loves to call it - are very ‘Old School’ thoughts. "Dance is not only about the moves but about feeling it. Acrobats or gymnasts cannot match up to dancing since feelings and expressions are involved in it," he said, while giving an example of his favourite dancer - actor Madhuri Dixit, who he says displays the best feelings in her dance.

Soon after he showed a few steps of contemporary form of dance, Terence spoke of how everyone says he only talks 'technical' about dance. "I have professionally trained myself in dancing l, is why I only stick to its technical aspects, as a judge at any reality show."

Terence being a great influencer of the youth also gave a word of caution regarding the increasing addiction to social media. The choreographer says that people have become used to living in a virtual world which is a cause of depression.

He said that, "In the new few years, there will be a high rise in depression as people are living in a virtual world where communication has been cut to social media posts. We are social animals who absorb energy from each other. So, if we are not talking to each other, we will fall into depression. We need to make a balance between your life and social media."

"Lot of young actors on the list are good dancers but they do not enjoy the choreography like Madhuri Dixit does. One needs to feel the dance and perform. That is why Madhuri is my favourite dancer and so it Hrithik Roshan. One of the most embarrassing moments of my life was when I was asked to perform a split at a dance reality show on national television. I was in my formal wear and had to perform. The end result of my pants getting torn continues to remain the most embarrassing moment for me."

"As a judge at reality shows, I only want to talk about technical stuff. I think, that is the only reason why people often say that I am very technical. One needs to separate dance, acrobats, and gymnasts. Dance is a way to connect with people through feelings, which is missing these days. When I wanted to become a choreographer, I realised that there were dance classes around but no professional training. I wanted to train myself professionally is why I chose to move abroad. Later, I started my training institute."

He further added, "Sanjay Leela Bhansali had already shot the song (Ang Laga De) with me but he wasn't happy with Deepika's costume, is why we had to re-shoot it. In the song, there was a part where sun rays are seen. And Bhansali was so particular about this scene that a person was hired only to manage the correct amount of sun rays required in the frame."

“You need to be in love with dance and choreography. It is a two-edged sword. It will get you fame but could be short time fame also. When I started dancing, there was absolutely no career in choreography. The dignity and respect that was lost, has come back because of the dance reality shows. Human beings are social animals who need absorb energy from each other through conversations. With social media, we have stopped doing that and it won't be surprising to have an increase in depression cases because of living in the virtual world all the time," he concluded, while showing some more dance moves; making the young guns join him too.”