Shiamak Davar

Shiamak Davar is an Indian choreographer, noted as one of the first to bring contemporary jazz and western forms of dance to India.[1] He is known as the guru of contemporary dance in India. He is responsible for modernizing India’s dance scene especially in the film and theatre industries. He is respected for his ever-evolving and very popular "Shiamak Style" of dance.[2] He was the director of choreography for the Commonwealth Games, Melbourne and Commonwealth Games, Delhi.[3] In 2011 he choreographed the dance sequences for the movie Mission Impossible 4.

Shiamak Davar
Shiamak Davar in 2010
Background information
Occupation(s)Choreographer
Years active1996 - present
Websitewww.shiamak.com

Davar has choreographed Indian actors and celebrities for film and stage for events like the IIFA Awards and the Filmfare Awards. Bollywood actors Shahid Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput, Varun Dhawan, Ishaan Khattar were members of the Shiamak Davar Dance Company.[4][5] Upcoming Indian actors Ruslaan Mumtaz, Shubh and child actor Darsheel Safary were also a part of the Shiamak Davar Dance Company.

Davar won the 1997 National Film Award for Best Choreography for his work in the film Dil to Pagal Hai,[1] as well as the Lycra (R) MTV Style Awards 2007 for 'Most Stylish Song in a Film', for "Dhoom Again" in the Indian film Dhoom 2.[6] In July 2011, Davar received an honorary doctorate from Middlesex University in recognition of his contribution to entertainment in India and throughout the world.[7]

Davar is a Gujarati-speaking Parsi.[8]

Choreographer

Davar began his career in choreography for Hindi cinema with the film Dil To Pagal Hai, for which he won the president's National Award. Having changed the way dance was perceived in Indian films, Davar went on to choreograph for Hindi films such as Taal, Kisna, Bunty Aur Babli, Dhoom 2, I See You, Taare Zameen Par, Yuvvraaj, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, No Means No (film) and Jagga Jasoos.

Shiamak has acted and choreographed in the movie Little Ziziou.[9] He released a hit pop album, Shabop, for which he composed and sang songs with other Indian artists such as Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan and Shweta Pandit as well as songs mixed and assorted by DJ Aqeel.

Shiamak has been the performance and entertainment designer for shows such as the Sahara Sangeet Awards, the Shiamak Davar China Tou', the Seventh Cairo International Song Festival,[10] IIFA Awards,[11] Shiamak: The Spirit of Song and Dance South Africa,[12] I Believe — A Shiamak Davar Spectacular[13][14] and The Unforgettable World Tour.[15]

Shiamak has directed, designed and performed at global events like the 2006 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, the 2010 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, the World Economic Forum, Davos (2006) and entertained leaders including Bill Clinton who said, "the world must see you".[16][17]


Singer

Shiamak is known for his electrifying and high energy live performances. He has often cited Elton John to be his hero, and John's influence on Shiamak is clearly discernable.

As a recording artist, Shiamak made his debut with an English album Survive in 1991 when pop music was still nascent in India.[18] He made his Hindi Pop debut with the album Mohabbat Karle, which sold 1.2 million copies in India. The song 'Jane Kisne' was quite a rage, especially amongst teenage girls, and was nominated for several awards, but winning none, as most awards went to Daler Mehndi's 'Ho Gayi Teri Balle Balle'. The title track "Mohabbat Karle" plagiarised its melody from Angelique Kidjo's Adouma. He also has other musical works in Hindi - Dil Chahe and Shabop. His latest album Shabop featured songs with Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan and Shweta Pandit.

Shiamak has shared the stage with artists such as Sting, Bryan Adams and Eddy Grant.He was the opening act for Bryan Adams for his 2011 India concerts. He also performed for Oprah in 2012 during her visit to India.

Charity

As a philanthropist, he runs the VAF (Victory Arts Foundation) that teaches dance to underprivileged children and children with mental and physical disabilities to help them experience the pleasure of expression through "dance as therapy". .

The Foundation has 2 dance groups:

1. Victory Dance Team (VDT) – Individuals from underprivileged background and hearing impaired

2. Victory on Wheels (VOW) – Mixed group of Individuals on wheelchairs, crutches, calipers, with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, Apert syndrome, polio, etc.

References
  1. Shiamak Davar, The Times of India, 10 December 2002
  3. A Slice of India at C'wealth Games, The Times of India, 16 March 2006
  4. Shiamak Davar's mover and shaker, by Bella Jaisinghani The Times of India, 20 July 2008
  6. Style Award Winners – 2007 Archived 21 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Lycra(R) MTV Style Awards Winners List
  8. Diksha Kamra. "SRK's shouting was a gift: Shiamak". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  9. "Shiamak Davar". IMDb.com. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  12. Shiamak - The Spirit of Song and Dance. Archived 28 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Videovision Entertainment. 8 July 2005
  13. I Believe Archived 10 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Aditya Birla Group
  14. Shiamak Davar Returns with I Believe Buzz18.com. CNN-IBN. 12 November 2007
  15. Unforgettable World Tour, Bollywood World.com IANS 16 August 2008
  16. Meet Shiamak Davar, The Globe and Mail, Jun. 15 2011, 4:23 PM EDT Last updated Friday, Aug. 24 2012, 3:54 PM EDT
  17. Shiamak Davar Dance Company Starts Classes in NYC WSJ by Aarti Virani
  18. Indian pop
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