Many Americans who tuned into Fox's hit reality show So You Think You Can Dance earlier this week got their first introduction to Bollywood when contestants Katee Shean and Joshua Allen danced to Dhoom Tana from the hit film Om Shanti Om.
Neither dancer had heard of Bollywood prior to meeting choreographer Nakul Dev Mahajan, who gave the couple their first lesson in mudras. "The story is guy likes girl, girl plays hard to get, but eventually gives in," said Mahajan as he described the dance to the couple.
Check it out:
The performance apparently prompted loads of people to do a Google search of "so you think you can dance bollywood" - the search term was the 77th most popular, according to techdreams.
The routine also received rave reviews from the show's three judges. Judge and Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe seemed particularly pleased. "I've been trying to get [Bollywood] on this show for three years," he said.
Here's what a Fox News TV critic had to say:
Despite the favoritism, it was still Joshua Allen and Katee Shean who walked away with the best performance of the night, with the show’s first Bollywood routine. Whatever criticism the judges had for Joshua’s waltz was completely erased by how perfectly he and Katee nailed the second dance. This SYTYCD first is likely one for the record books, which will soon be half full of just Joshua and Katee routines.
More from The Los Angeles Times' Show Tracker blog said:
When Joshua and Katee picked Bollywood out of a hat, they didn't even know what it was. Who would have thought that just days later, the ever-masculine Joshua would find his niche in a jewel encrusted stocking cap, jingling anklets, a sequin vest and beaded cuff bracelets?
But from the moment he stepped out in that light-refracting ensemble, Joshua was Bollywood. He committed to a dance that was totally out of his comfort zone, and as far as I'm concerned, he won the night for it!
Earlier on SAJAforum:
- DANCE: Michael Jackson meets the Sardar
- TV: Kashif Memon Makes It To Another Round of "America's Got Talent"
- Nakul Dev Mahajan's biography
Let us know what you thought of the routine.
