Jigs & Shimmers, Illusion & Enchantment @ Infusion 2017
Photos: Murali Santhana
By Vanshika Vipin Varma
STAFFORD: Last Saturday, December 2, was quite unconventional and offbeat, as the much-anticipated Infusion 2017-A Magical Musical Bollywood Spectacular was held in full vigor and galore at the St. Joseph’s Auditorium. Infused Performing Arts has been entertaining audiences since the beginning of their musical journey, way back in 2009. The lovely couple, founders and choreographers- Tina Bose-Kumar & Kiron Kumar started Infused Performing Arts out of their sheer passion and dedication for promoting the rich Indian culture to students and audiences around USA. In just six years, Infused Performing Arts has grown immensely, with their studios across Houston, Sugar Land, Stafford & Pearland.
This year’s mega-event, the seventh annual production from Infused Performing Arts, was a free event for the public. It was based on a Magical Bollywood Musical and a Bollywood interpretation of Grease. Chief Guest Allen Owen, the Mayor of Missouri City, welcomed all and shared his experiences of the Hurricane Harvey, and the relief work that has been done for the last three months. He thanked Infused Performing Arts for raising funds at the show and donating them to his Harvey Relief fund.
The terrific duo Tina-Bose-Kumar & Kiron Kumar choreographed and directed this spectacular affair. And it was nothing short of a star-studded Bollywood night, except that the stars here were the Infused Performing Arts Dance Company, students and the professional Belly Dancers, Miriam Amaya and Jenaan. As evening set in, some electrifying performances showed up, and these included various forms of dance that were complimented with opulent costumes, some extraordinary magical illusions, and some exceedingly remarkable stunts. Infused Performing Arts has been known for wooing their audiences by serving them an enchanting display of dance, infused with magic. And this show definitely had these sensational spices that flowed consistently across all their memorable performances.
The opening act of Bahubali theme dance stunned everyone when Tina Bose magically appeared out of an empty box. While belly dancers Miriam and Jenaan, and the men from Dance Co. soared temperatures across the hall with their Manohari performance, Piya More and Bom Diggy club flaunted some modern twirls and sways on jazz and hiphop elements. An edge-of-the-seat act was exhibited by Swalla Jathi Mix when Miriam did a tricky sword balancing, while some mind-blowing Kuchipudi performance was being displayed on a plate. Next in row was a cute little performance that featured some bubbly girls of various ages, spinning and whirling away to the popular numbers, BreakUp Song, Udi Jaye, Gulaabi, and the classic Ek Do Teen. Armed with props, pots, streamers, and cartwheels, while these girls charmed everyone with their cute acts, the boys were full of zeal and energy with their acrobatic somersaults and more, on Dishoom, Cutipie, and Disco Disco. It seemed like a competing performance, when some senior girls barged in again and seized the audiences with their breath-taking fan dance, performed on the famous Kehna hi kya. Their energy was an absolute match with the boys’ and their lifts and splits on Girls like to Swing were testimony to that.
Like always, the finale’s of Infused Performing Arts is so magnanimous that it gets the entire audiences up on their seats. And no, it is not only for a standing ovation, but also for participation in shaking their legs. And the finale on this day was no less. All the 175 performers up on stage swaying away to glory on Jimiki Kamal and Oh Ho Ho surely brought the house down. This level of an exhilarating and intoxicating performance can always be experienced with Tina and Kiron’s team. The finale act featured an epic rendition of what seemed straight out of a Bollywood movie. The antagonist (Keith Larue) locked the hero (Kiron) in a box, up on stage, but he magically vanished out of thin air. The next moment he was seen entering the hall on a motorcycle, with the heroine (Tina).
And the surprise did not end there, the box that had Kiron in it, now had Keith locked inside. This perplexing act excited the audiences so much that the entire hall was roaring with thunderous applauds. The marvelous show had scripts and dialogues by Kiron Kumar and Yaksha Bhatt, while the gleam and blaze; the lighting was under the supervision of Balu Madhu and Suman Mangu. Stage managers who supported the act were Swetha Nelankanti, Haya Panjwani, Bhavana Gollapudi, Sadhana Gollapudi, and Sathvika Karungati. After the awe-inspiring show, elated Tina and Kiron, mentioned that they are thankful to the audience for supporting their shows in all these years. They also made a special mention about the parents who have trusted and supported these two with their children. The shows of Infused Performing Arts are always looked forward to and their next distinguished staging will be the Rockets vs. OKC Halftime performance on April 7, 2018.
To participate, Infused Performing Arts is conducting auditions for experienced dancers aged 7 & above, to perform for halftime. Please get in touch by visiting www.infusedperformingarts.com or calling 724-638-7338.