Bollywood Dance for the Phoenix Mercury

Kriti Dance performed a Bollywood dance during half-time entertainment for the Phoenix Mercury (2009 WNBA champions) at US Airways Center on August 8, 2010. This was the fourth production from Kriti Dance for the Phoenix Suns (NBA) and Phoenix Mercury (WNBA) games at US Airways Center.

Kriti Dance presented a contemporary and energetic Bollywood dance piece for their performance. A valley-wide audition was held in April 2010 where dancers were asked to showcase various dance styles and perform freestyle dances. The auditions were held on two separate days and an overwhelming number of participants responded. Finalists were chosen after much deliberation based on their dancing skills, enthusiasm, and personality.

“We selected dancers from all walks of life and different backgrounds because we wanted to involve real people, not just picture-perfect bodies, who have prior dance performance experience and more importantly, an infectious enthusiasm for presenting a cross-cultural and diversified dance,” says Kriti Agarwal, owner of Kriti Dance. The youngest participant for the Phoenix Mercury performance is 6 years old and the oldest is a lively 56 years old.

“The most important asset that participants can bring to the class is their smile. Being open-minded and enthusiastic is the first step towards learning Bollywood dance. Participants often enroll in our workshops because they are curious to see what Bollywood dancing is. Once the participants discover how much fun and entertaining our workshops are, their confidence and self-esteem grows in learning a new dancing style. After all, Arizona is an amalgamation of various cultures.”

Agarwal choreographs dance productions to be performed at several events. Among them are pre-game and half-time entertainment shows for the Phoenix Mercury and Phoenix Suns. Her company welcomes participants from all walks of life to learn Bollywood dance. Kriti Dance offers Bollywood dance classes for children as well as adults.

Kriti Dance would like to thank the following sponsors for making this production possible: Sona Chaandi AZ, Trevor Dayley Photography, Eyes That Sparkle & Co., and Perfect Pixel Studios.

Additionally, all the following participants are thanked for giving a fantastic performance during the half-time entertainment show: Mika Dubey, Shriya Shah, Marcella Fuller, Kayla Smyth, Maria Barrett, Rajni Chand, Gina Denise, Janice Miller, Rose Kaur, Zach Robertin, Tiara Van Ordt, Asha Devneni, Monica Colon, Divya Amrelia, Marie Mabin, Andrea Beltran, Ana Edith, Divya Wadhwani, Rajashi Runton, Sue Mollica and Melody Wolcott.

Kriti Agarwal received the Working Mother of the Year award in 2006, works full time at one of Chandler largest employers, has 2 young kids, and conducts dance workshops on the weekends. She has been featured on Channel 3TV, PBS TV, Fox10 and NBC (Channel 12) where she and her dance troupe has demonstrated Bollywood dances and involved audience participation as well.

Kriti Dance can be contacted at 480-241-8699.