Today we’d like to introduce you to Aditya Bilagi.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was a shy kid growing up, and my way of overcoming shyness was dance.
Govinda was big at the time, and I would always be in awe of his moves and expressions. I started picking up his style. Although I wasn’t a good dancer, people who watched me always had good things to say about my performance. That really encouraged me to learn more.
I started taking dancing seriously after Hrithik Roshan’s debut. Right then, I knew I wanted to learn to dance like him. I would learn his moves by watching songs on repeat, sometimes slowing them down to half speed just to get it right.
I learned how to moonwalk watching MJ’s DVDs at home. I would get dance videos from my friends, burn them on CDs and then watch and practice the steps till I was satisfied with how my movements looked. Once YouTube got big, I started following a lot of dancers, and picked up a few new techniques.
If you see me dancing today, you’ll definitely catch glimpses of Hip Hop and Bollywood mixed with Filmy expressions.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve been fortunate enough to have parents who guide and support me in everything I do.
My goal is to carve a niche for myself in a country filled with amazing dancers each with their own style. I’m still trying to find my style and what makes me unique.
I used to take pride in calling myself a self-taught dancer but that changed in 2018. I realized I needed to learn the basics from other dance forms at the very least if I wanted to really grow as a dancer. I’m technically still behind most professional dancers but I’ll eventually get there.
I love to stay physically active and inadvertently end up injuring myself a lot. All the dislocations, fractures and tears mean time away from training and I absolutely hate that. Also finding a balance between my day job and dance is not always easy.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I’m a Senior Software Engineer by day and a Bollywood/Hip Hop Dancer by night. Besides dancing, I spend a lot of time on fitness, martial arts, sketching and learning new skills. I want to make people realize that it’s never too late to learn anything new.
Dance, for me, is an escape; a way to express myself. It has helped me grow as a person. I want to make sure my videos reach enough people in hopes to at least inspire a few along the way.
One of my goals is to start teaching dance and I’m slowly and steadily making progress towards it.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I’ve been a regular at the #bfunk classes in LA since mid 2017. One of my #bfunk performances went viral last year, and I’ve received so much love and appreciation for that. I have met and talked to so many inspiring people because of that one video.
My proudest moment would be the day #bfunk recorded this video. My parents were visiting from India, and they accompanied me to the class. The choreographers had a lot of good things to say about my progress as a dancer and asked me to perform solo for the recording.
Watching my parents beam with pride after my performance was the best feeling in the world. No wonder the one dance I performed in front of my parents ended up going viral.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adi_bilagi/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bilagidance/
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