Performers in show business – we have all felt their presence when they walk into a room.  Yet, few people with such aura possess Rahul’s sincerity. 

Rahul

Rahul Manoharan is a Senior Instructor at Shiamak Davar International for various forms of Bollywood dance.  He is a talented and energetic performer who is incredibly dedicated to his work and his students.  Even before he steps to the front of the class, his presence commands your attention, but he returns all of that attention to you. He greets you when you arrive, thanks you for coming and patiently finds ways for you to do your very best in class.  His sincerity is a welcomed relief when, for the next hour, you will be jumping around with hair stuck to sweaty forehead trying to channel your inner Bollywood star.

When Rahul was young, his mother suggested that he try Shiamak Davar’s dance classes after seeing him ‘freak out’ whenever she put the music on.  ‘Freak out’ is Rahul’s expression for ‘dance crazy’ or ‘go all out’.   A few years after Davar hand-picked Rahul from the beginner class, he has been freaking out non-stop for Bollywood films, performances and teaches all levels of Davar’s classes in India and Canada.  Rahul’s days can begin with teaching early morning classes followed by rehearsals for films or performances that extend past midnight.  Tiring as it seems, he is humbled that people come to his classes to do exactly what he loves to do.  Rahul is grateful to Davar and his other instructors who kept him returning to those beginner classes which he first attended.  Their attention to adapt choreography for the male role, as there are often few males in a dance class, or to help him find a connection to the dance, gave him a sense of belonging and fulfillment.  Now, as the instructor, Rahul understands the range of reasons people come to class and imparts that same sense of connection to his students.

Coming out from his class I felt incredibly energized and happy. It might have been the endorphins, or maybe, I had acquired a little Bollywood aura of my own.