Bollywood Dance is the love of my life, says renowned Russian dancer Olga Seth Olgita

Bollywood dance has penetrated the world like no other dance form has. People of all nationalities love Bollywood dance and if they don’t dance they surely know about it and have seen it. Olga Seth Olgita is a renowned dancer from Russia who has been crazy for Bollywood since she was a child and today she performs and promotes Bollywood dance all over her country.
At the recent Celebrate India festival in Moscow, Olga was especially invited to showcase and perform Bollywood dance. I spoke with the supremely talented dancer who at the festival said “I fell in love with India at the age of 10!! Just like the colors of Holi it burst into my life and changed it forever. I was fascinated with the culture, traditions, music, movies and most importantly – DANCE!!! I learned how to dance by watching Indian movies. My favourite actress of all times is Hema Malini. She is my idol. Now I watch a lot of tutorials on YouTube and do my own choreography. India and Bollywood – my love, my life.” I won’t be wrong if I say that Olga is Russian by birth but totally Indian at heart, excerpts from the interview:

Tell me more about how you started your dance journey?
I always liked dancing, even as a little girl. I always would participate in all of my school programs with some kind of dance number. Dancing always made me happy. But once I discovered Bollywood dance, I instantly knew that it will be my passion for the rest of my life.

Why did you choose Bollywood dance?
I would have to say that Bollywood chose me. When I was 10, I saw an Indian movie on Television – Seeta aur Geeta. I was totally mesmerized. I loved Hema Malini so much; she is still my favourite actress and my idol. The dancing and songs in this movie left a huge impression on me and I wanted to learn everything about it. Back then we didn’t have YouTube or anything like that, so it was not easy. When I became a bit older, I started to go to the movie theatre and take pictures of the dances. That’s how I started to learn. Of course, now it’s so much easier with all the access we have to everything.

What attracts you to the culture of India??
India fascinated me since childhood, when I was very young it felt like some magical place, very far away and very different from my country. I love Indian traditions, architecture, food, music and of course dance. Everything about your country Sandip is very colourful and absolutely beautiful. I visited India many many years ago. I went to Mumbai, New Delhi, Agra, Chennai and Kolkata. I loved how different every place was, different nature and food, even music and language. There is no way to describe the feeling I had while visiting India – the country I loved since I was a child. It’s truly felt like a dream. The most memorable experience, hands down, was to attending Hema Malini’s dance concert, live. I saw it in Mumbai, at the ISCKON temple and it was about Lord Krishna. I was able to get the tickets to the first row and couldn’t believe that I am just a couple of meters away from my favourite actress and dancer. I will never ever forget that. It was one of the most memorable moments of my life. After that I never visited India, but India still is in my heart and soul.

How is the Russian dance culture different from Indian dance culture?
Dance culture in Russia and India are very different at the same time have lot of similarities. Mostly, dance in Russia is based on traditional folk dance, that involves fast turns, stomping, kicks in the air and many more elements. They can be very slow and have a floating effect, or very fast with the competition like elements. India Folk dances are both slow and fast. And of course, there is the Ballet, which is considered a symbol of Russian dance culture. Like Ballet is a classical dance of Russia, India too has it’s classical dances which takes year to master, costumes in Ballet are not as colourful as costumes in Indian Classical dances. And there is my favourite Bollywood which we in Russia don’t have in our cinema but love to see it in Indian movies.

You often promote Bollywood and Indian culture in your country,
No, I don’t have to do much at all, in Russia, Indian culture does not really need to be promoted, Russians love Indian culture and music. Raj Kapoor made it very famous in the 60s and since then it still is. When I was young, I was a principal dancer in a dance group called “Star”. We had a full program of Bollywood dances and travelled around the region performing. That was the happiest time of my life. I loved it so much.

What are your next show plans?
Unfortunately, at this stage of my life I don’t perform much, only a few special ones. Several reasons for it, But India is in my blood I cannot stop dancing either. So, I do the dance videos for my YouTube channel when I can. and it still makes me as happy as it did when I was performing at the young age. I have done many shows in my country showcasing Bollywood dance to the best of my ability but, I have never had an opportunity to perform in India. Yes, that is indeed a dream but, I am hoping one day I can make a dance video in India – with beautiful nature in the background, that would be the next best thing. Another dream of mine is to meet Hema Malini in person if not at least to see her perform again.

Sandip Soparrkar is a World Book Record holder, a well known Ballroom dancer and a Bollywood choreographer who has been honoured with two National Excellence awards and one National Achievement Award by the Govt of India. He can be contacted on [email protected]