Sneha Kapoor, the award-winning Salsa connoisseur has a career resume that any dance-lover would love to possess at an age as young as 27. While she is fondly called the ‘Indian Salsa Princess,’ this damsel who also is an expert dance choreographer and instructor well-versed in varied dance forms, enjoys the privilege of being the first woman in the country to have won some of the world’s most prestigious international Salsa championships.
Born and brought up in Bangalore and currently based at Mumbai, Sneha has awards from the Australian Salsa Classic, Sydney, the European Salsa Masters, UK and the Asian Open Salsa Championships, Hong Kong, in her kitty, apart from having surfaced as one among the top 20 finalists in the famous Indian television dance reality show Dance India Dance in the year 2011. The young and talented danseuse, who also is an exponent in other dance forms such as Bachata, merengue, Jive, hip-hop, adagio and Bollywood, was in Mysore to perform at a New Year’s eve event when Star of Mysore caught up with her for an interview. Excerpts…
Star of Mysore (SOM): You are called the Indian Salsa Princess. How does it feel to be called so?
Sneha: I feel humbled. I got the title after I won a series of International Salsa dance championships held at various places across the globe during the year 2007 such as the Australian Salsa Classic in Sydney, the European Salsa Masters at the UK and the Asian Open Salsa Championship held at Hong Kong, apart from being a semi-finalist at the ESPN World Salsa Championship held at Orlando, Florida, the same year. It feels wonderful to be called so. It’s quite touching.
SOM: How was your stint with the reality show Dance India Dance? How did the show really help you?
Sneha: The first reality show I took part in was India has Got Talent. I participated in Dance India Dance (DID) later which was a great learning experience. I not just got recognised through this show but also got to learn several more dance styles as a participant. And getting trained and groomed under the best of judges was yet another advantage of DID. I had the best of judges in Geeta Kapoor, Terence Lewis and Remo D’ Souza. It was a great experience altogether.
SOM: You were an athlete and wanted to make it big in the field of sports. Then what made you take to dance?
Sneha: I never knew I would become a dancer or choreographer one day. It happened by default. I was initially an athletics enthusiast who aimed to make it big and represent India in athletics. However, I unfortunately suffered an injury in my knee because of which I had to give up athletics. During the time, my friends at college forced me to take part in a dance competition which I reluctantly did. I must admit I made no great dancer in the beginning. However, I gradually picked up the skills, joining the Lourd Vijay’s dance studio in Bangalore. In all, becoming a dancer has been a roller-coaster ride.
SOM: You also hold a Guinness World Record for having done the most number of swing dance flips in a minute. Tell us about it.
Sneha: Yes. We were a team of four who broke the record set in the UK and it fills me with a sense of pride. I and my team broke the record of 33 flips in a minute that was set four years ago. Our new record stands at 39 swing dance flips in a minute.
SOM: What are the plans in pipeline?
Sneha: I would love to see myself going a few more steps further as a choreographer and making it big in the field. I have choreographed for a South Indian movie and reality shows Just Dance and Perfect Bride. My current interest is acting and I have been working towards it. Acting isn’t my forte so I have more to learn.—AN
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / January 04th, 2014