Their personality, upbringing and background is different, but they are united by the love of dance. After Desihoppers hopped its way to first position at the World of Dance competition here, the Indian troupe's members say the real journey starts now with several more milestone to cross.
The troupe of seven, led by Shantanu Maheshwari, Macedon D'mello and Nimit Kotian, grabbed the trophy along with a cheque of $5,000 at Los Angeles Convention Center on Sunday evening.
Their performance was high on Indian classical dance and Bollywood dancing style, and it is this uniqueness which helped them pip over 30 teams from across 14 countries.
Shantanu, who hails from Kolkata, told IANS: "It is a new beginning from here. I feel one should follow someone, but should not lose out their own essence."
In the same vein, Macedon said: "The journey starts now".
Nimit shared that they have still not figured out what to do with the prize money as the feeling of triumph is yet to sink in.
They stumbled into each other for the first time in H.R. College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai, and have stuck to each other since then thanks to their passion for dance. Shantanu and Macedon were a part of dance-based TV show "Dil Dosti Dance", while Nimit choreographed for the show.
"I started dancing when I was in school, but it was in college when I realised that I want to dance. While I was doing B.Com, I quit college for a year. I was a drop out. I danced the whole year, and then joined H.R. College, where I met the others," Macedon said.
Nimit, who is a master of popping and krumping, looked at choreography to support his family. His parents have a hearing disability, and he is the only earning member of the family.
"I have faced a lot of trouble in life, especially from my father's side because he was not very supportive, but my mother was also pushing me to do better. But now, my father is convinced that I'm doing something (worthwhile)," said Nimit.
The route towards success was not easy, but they were mentored by experts Jaja Vanková, a choreographer from the Czech Republic, and of "So You Think You Can Dance" fame, and Indian dancer Terence Lewis.
The Desihoppers's journey of making their dream into a reality has been chronicled in a reality TV show "bindass NAACH", a ten-episode series, which went on air on August 16, the day the troupe won the global competition.
(The writer's trip is at the invitation of Disney. Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)
