International Dance Day: How e-learning is enabling dance enthusiasts

Divanshi Gupta's passion for dance has followed her since her childhood. She earned a Prabhakar degree in Kathak while learning other dance styles, encouraged by her mother who wanted her "to experience everything and not just textbooks." Little wonder then that her ed-tech platform UCanji, which launched in March 2021,has over 100 dance courses in more than 17 styles. "In India, the traditional inclination toward learning Kathak, Bollywood dance, bhangra, or Hip-hop has changed and many learners are attracted to open-style, popping, footwork, and ballet," shares the founder.

With time, dance learning has attracted a lot of learners from different places because of virtual learning, accessible platforms, and affordable prices, according to Gupta. Indeed, when the pandemic and consequent lockdowns happened, people suddenly had a ton of leisure time on their hands which led to a resurgence of hobbies - from baking sourdough to gardening. It comes as no surprise that millions of people across the globe jumped on the e-learning bandwagon, polishing old skills and learning new ones.

What was previously believed to be possible in-person was adapted for the virtual medium, which enabled people to learn from anywhere, anytime. With social media flooded with dance videos, online dance classes really took off. Owing to the increased accessibility, people started exploring myriad dance forms as instructors adapted innovative teaching methods. On International Dance Day, we spoke to industry experts and enthusiasts to understand the growing interest in virtual dance lessons.

Gupta says her platform, which encourages learners to pursue other global and lesser-known dance forms, has amassed more than 1 million subscriptions across 34 countries. Accessibility and affordability drew 17-year-old Parvinder Singh to online dance classes. "I love watching Instagram reels, and this was how I got introduced to different types of dance forms. I wanted to take dance classes but was initially apprehensive about joining online classes." Research led him to UCanji, which had trending choreographies from trained choreographers and whose monthly subscription fee of Rs 299 was something he "could pay for with my pocket money."

For another subscriber of the app, Renu Sharma, worries about her kids' fitness made her turn to online dance classes. "I got anxious about my kids' health as the lockdown was hampering their outdoor activities. They had become too lazy to even get up from their beds. The purpose behind making my kids join online classes was to exercise every day in the form of dance," she shares.


Founders of popular dance tech platforms, Vinay Khandelwal and Divanshi Gupta bat for continued growth in virtual dance learning. Photo Credit: Vinay Khandelwal, Divanshi Gupta

The virtual space opened up new possibilities for dance instructors too. Manali Jitendra Mayekar has been teaching dance and choreographing events for the past eight years. She made the switch to teaching online during the pandemic. "It has always been more of a learning curve while teaching new styles and choreographing new concepts for my clients in-person. Initially during the pandemic, it became quite difficult for me to even get out of the house to teach, but when I started teaching virtually on different online platforms, my job became easier," shares Mayekar. When asked if certain styles are easier to pick up virtually, she says, "I've always been teaching different styles like Hip-hop, and semi-classical, but nowadays Bollywood-style dance is trending. It's also easy to learn virtually as the steps are quite similar to the song and easy to understand. I expect people will always prefer dance taught via video or online instead of being taught in person as it adds flexibility and self-paced learning, better time management, and demonstrated self-motivation."

Hotstep - awarded by Google Play under the "Best App for Fun" category - is another trending online platform which offers dance tutorials and live sessions from various artists. The platform aims to build a dance community by connecting renowned choreographers with dance enthusiasts, and is intended for anyone who wishes to become a dance professional, work on their mental health or physical fitness, perform in a wedding, or just dance for fun. Founded by actor-dancer-entrepreneur Vinay Khandelwal, Hotstep was launched during the pandemic. He says, "There was a major rise in e-learning during the pandemic, and we decided that it was the best time for us to help users turn any space into a dance class or studio."

Outlining what appeals to his target audience, Khandelwal shares, "We have focused on offering users quality in both-- tech and content. The platform offers a range of dance styles including Bollywood, dancehall, jazz-funk, house, with flexible timings, access to expert professionals, and dance-friendly tech features like a mirror image, section breakdown, and speed control. These styles can be learned through recorded tutorials and live interactive classes from the experts. Imagine watching a dance reality show on a Sunday and then being able to learn that dance from the same choreographer on Monday."

Elaborating on the tremendous growth the platform has seen and his ever-expanding user base, he explains, "In our first year of launch we saw user growth double without any marketing investment or funding. Today, even when everything is opening up and getting back to normal, our user base is still growing. Google Play helped us reach out to users from different corners of the world, helping us build a community of users from over 50 countries. In India, we are seeing a diverse set of people including school kids, professionals, and housewives, from metros as well as Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns."

Mumbai-based choreographer Rahil Siddique offers personalised classes virtually. Photo Credit: Rahil Siddique

Tushar Shetty--dance reality show choreographer of Super Dancer and India's Best Dancer--who also teaches on the platform shares, "Hotstep is one of the best online learning applications in India according to my personal experience. I have had a smooth experience, and Hotstep made it easy for me to connect with dance lovers from India and abroad through its online classes by making dance learning accessible."

For those who might not want to commit to an elaborate dance course, online dance tutorial videos can be an excellent resource. Team Naach--a Mumbai based dance company founded in 2014 - is one of India's leading YouTube dance channels with over 4.6 million subscribers. The dance studio's easy-to-follow Bollywood choreography videos receive views in millions. "The team teaches various forms ranging from Bollywood and semi-classical to belly dance, Hip-hop and more. While the Naach headquarters is in Mumbai, we have organised several workshops nationally including Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore, as well as internationally in Dubai and Hong Kong," shares co-founder Nicole Concessao. Such is their popularity that collaborations with stalwarts like Madhuri Dixit and Alia Bhatt have come their way.

Co-founder Sonal Devraj tells us that their reach has only increased due to the boost in virtual learning over the past couple of years. "Teaching online has helped us reach out to a larger audience. We've seen students--not just across India but around the world-- dancing with us across age groups and genders. Whether it's in the wee hours of the morning or late at night, they make Team Naach online sessions a priority," she says. "In our physical classes, the studios can hold a certain limit of people but we don't have a limit online. However we have missed teaching offline, and we are so happy to be doing both now."

If you are someone who benefits from one-on-one customised training, the solution comes in the form of dance instructors who choose to offer personalised classes on an individual level. 25-year-old Rahil Siddique--a choreographer based in Mumbai - believes virtual dance lessons are here to stay.

"When Covid-19 hit us, people had excessive leisure time on their hands to pursue their passions which contributed to the boom in e-learning dance. While many dance platforms launched during this time, many dance instructors like me took on virtual dance classes via Zoom and Google Meet on an individual level. These personalised classes enabled me to accommodate the needs and learning behaviour of students. I was able to pace the class and choreograph based on their skill levels," shares Siddique. "Things have changed now and we have resumed in-person dance training but I feel virtual training will continue to be a part of our daily lives. I believe it will now be a combination of both, virtual and in person dance lessons."