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Dance St. Louis Goes Bollywood With ‘Taj Express’ at the Touhill this Weekend
Dance St. Louis continues its 2016-17 season with three performances of ‘Taj Express: The Bollywood Musical Revue’ at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on March 31 – April 1. Direct from Mumbai, “Taj Express” captures the vibrant, expressive spirit of Bollywood’s sounds and movements.
This dazzling international sensation takes audiences on a live cinematic journey through modern Indian culture and society. Described as a “live movie,” this high-energy celebration of Bollywood culture and of new India’s pop music and deep traditions showcases joyful dance and thrilling live music.
A young aspiring Indian composer, Shankar, is given his first big break in the film business, to create the music for a brand new Bollywood romance movie, “Taj Express.” Music is the key factor in the success of a Bollywood movie, and Shankar dreams of writing a song as successful as A.R. Rahman’s Oscar winning smash hit “Jai Ho” in the movie “Slumdog Millionaire.” “Jai Ho” means “be victorious,” and writing the music for the movie “Taj Express” is Shankar’s big opportunity to claim his own victory.
Shankar invites the audience into his studio and his creative world, sharing the secrets of how his Bollywood movie is made. He takes the audience through the script, page by page, making the music for each character and event in the roller-coaster romance.
Some of the musical genres include Bollywood, hip-hop, ballet, Indian, and Latin American. Taj Express stars India’s finest Bollywood ensemble, arrayed in 2,000 colorful, dazzling costumes.
‘Taj Express: The Bollywood Musical Revue’ plays Friday, March 31 at 8p.m. and Saturday, April 1 at 2 & 8 p.m. at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $40-60 and available from dancestlouis.org. For additional details about ‘Taj Express,’ visit www.dancestlouis.org/taj-express-the-bollywood-musical-review.
‘Taj Express’ director of Choreography Vaibhavi Merchant has choreographed more than 75 Bollywood films in her career and received numerous awards including the prestigious National Award for Choreography, IIFA, and the American Choreography Award. This is a dance scene from the production coming to the Touhill this weekend.
