Asia Education Foundation

Bollywood Inspiration

cover image: Dance Unit: Bollywood Inspiration

This unit lets students explore Bollywood song and dance. Students will get to recreate aspects of traditional Indian dance and experiment with gestural movement, vocabulary and established choreographic conventions. In their research and performances, students will identify and present both traditional and contemporary aspects of the Bollywood genre. They will experience first-hand examples of global cultural fusion.

 


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Extension activities

  1. Invite students to create an instructional PowerPoint with film clips and information about:
    • a specific Indian dance tradition such as Kathak, bhangra or Kummi
    • how a music clip has fused Western and Indian traditions
    • the work of a specific Indian choreographer. See Resource sheet 2 for ideas.
  2. The abundance of YouTube clips provide opportunities for students to work with the following films: Bride and Prejudice, Pride and Prejudice, Bend It Like Beckham and Monsoon Wedding. Areas of focus might include:
    • further examples of fusion of Indian and Western cultures
    • how gender is explored through movement, costume and other techniques
    • choreography for film
    • costume and music for dance.
    Note that the resource Film Asia includes teaching and learning activities about the film Monsoon Wedding.