Introducing BollyX

(Left to right: Mayuri, Shahil, Minal)

This Wednesday we are featuring a special Who’s That Gal - a review and recap of BollyX, the new Bollywood-inspired dance-fitness class to hit Boston and New York. 

A little background on the class - it is a 50 minute cardio workout cycling between high and low intensity dance sequences along to latest hip hop and Bollywood beats. You’ll be sweating, laughing, and dancing all at the same time. Trust us, we did it.

To give you a little more background on the workout, BollyX was founded in June of 2013 by the award winning Bollywood choreographers Mayuri Bhandari, Shahil Patel* and Minal Mehta, and unsurprisingly, all three have incredible experiences previous to starting their joint venture. To prove it, here are 3 quick and insane facts about each founder:

M A Y U R I

1. Founded MOKSHA, a non-profit that teaches dance movement to blind, deaf, and mentally challenged children in India.

2. She recently has been cast for a lead role with Cirque Du Soleil.

3. She was one of the finalists on the TV show “Just Dance” (India’s version of “So You Think You Can Dance”).

S H A H I L

1. Had never danced before college where he taught himself with online videos during study breaks (he double majored at UC Berkeley in Econ and Psych).

2. In 2009, Shahil led the first-ever Bollywood dance team to the Semi-finals of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” with a hit performance to Slumdog Millionaire’s “Jai Ho!”

3. He has choreographed, produced, and led over 200 Bollywood performances for high-profile clients nationwide including Walmart, Pepsi, Wyndham, Cisco, DIRECTV, eBay, Infosys, IGN, GE, ATT and more.

M I N A L

1. At UC Berkely, Minal trained in acting and Kathak (a North Indian classical dance form) and led her UC Berkeley Bollywood dance team to sweep all national competitions in 2005.

2. She wrote and performed her own song for South Asian Sister’s yearly production “Yoni Ki Baat.”

3. After graduating from UC Berkeley in 2005 with a B.A. in Economics with Honors she continued onto Harvard Business School in 2011 with a focus on strategy and marketing.

Now that we all understand just how talented the BollyX team is, let's get back to the class. 

Last Monday, Cam, Meredith and myself, along with a few friends and bloggers, participated in our first ever BollyX class. For some it was also their first ever dance-fitness class, which added to the anxiety walking into Cambridge’s Dance Complex. Luckily, as soon as the music turned on and Mayuri started moving, the class (comprised of as many men as women) took off into a fast paced whirlwind of fun dance moves as the BollyX team danced beside us encouraging us through each and every move. 

We moved fast, we broke a serious sweat, and we had blast. I think we even each picked up a few new moves to try out on the bar dance floors...Point anyone? Tell the DJ to pump it up!

In conclusion, if you are looking for an awesome workout that is an unbelievably fun and unique bonding experience for you and your friends, please check out BollyX. No previous dance experience or skills are required, all you need is a positive attitude and the willingness seriously work it.

Classes start at just $12 and are available and Cambridge Dance Complex, VIM Fitness, and BSC Fenway. Go to the class schedule here and sign up, you won't regret it!

- Suzanne

*We are pleased to announce Shahil is our first male feature (of hopefully many) on the blog!