After successful recent releases, including contemporary Bollywood and traditional garba, Faizaan Ahab Dance (FAD) is all set to release their latest bhangra number, featuring FAD choreographer Syed Faizaan Ahab, top model Rubya Chaudhry and dance enthusiast Saif Aly.
The performance is featured on DJ Aamir’s upbeat dhol rendition of the song “Magenta Riddim” by DJ Snake and the video is directed and co-produced by MK Hadi. It is a contemporary take on traditional bhangra as a formal genre, as opposed to jerky freestyle shoulder movements commonly seen at Pakistani weddings. It aims to revive the celebratory spirit of bhangra by executing vigorous kicks, energetic leaps and powerful bends of the body in a choreographed fashion.
Internationally, bhangra is a booming trend and FAD, in its attempt to promote dance, wanted to promote culture in a global context as well. The song selection was cherry picked for this reason – trendy, yet traditional in appropriation. Syed Faizaan Ahab stated, “We chose a bhangra number this time because in Pakistan, we all love doing it. For us, it comes from within and if it’s done in a coordinated manner, it looks beautiful; very festive and impactful,” before adding, “Over the years, bhangra has lost its essence to freestyle movement. We want to bring the art back in contemporary times.”
“Being Punjabi, it is my right to know bhangra and an absolute responsibility to pass it on to future generations,” Rubya Chaudhry said. “It was an absolute joy dancing with Faizaan Ahab and Saif Aly. Both are very capable dancers. I hope this will inspire me to continue dancing.”
“Working on this shoot was an amazing experience,” Saif Aly added, “These are exciting times for people passionate about dance in Pakistan. We’re just beginning to realise the positive effects that dance has on us and hopefully, shoots like these will help promote engagement through the medium.”
FAD specialises in contemporary and Bollywood routines, providing services in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi for the past 10 years. To its profile, FAD has choreographed over 300 signature weddings, apart from providing services for Pakistani cinema in films like ‘Janaan’ and successful music videos by industry icons like Uzair Jaswal and Farhad Humayun. FAD continues to give contemporary and Bollywood dance workshops in partnerships with various studios across the country. The shoot was wrapped up earlier this month and the video is scheduled to release in the third week of April, 2019.