Garba and dandiya workshops across Hyderabad are blending traditional steps with trending songs as participants prepare for Navaratri and share reels online.
Dandiya and garba workshops are being held across the twin cities ahead of Dasara Navaratri, which begins in the weekend, with participants learning traditional steps and newer moves to popular songs.
Social media has helped drive interest in the workshops, as dancers increasingly record their performances and share them online. The sessions introduce beginners to the basics of the traditional Gujarati dance forms while helping experienced participants learn more advanced moves.
Saloni Jain of Navka Navrati Utsav, who has conducted a series of workshops, said “Mhara Srinath Ji” was trending this year, with teenagers and young adults practising their routines to the song.
She said the dance forms had grown in popularity over the past decade, with social media trends now influencing participants’ choice of songs and steps. Many were keen to learn new moves, record video clips and post them on Instagram.
Sejal Vakhariya, Meera Shah, Beena Choudhary, Neema Parikh and Sangeeta Mehta, a group of women of Gujarati origin, said Navaratri was among the biggest festivals they celebrated in Hyderabad. Their group performed dandiya and garba each year and sought to introduce new steps set to new songs.
Kaushal Vakhariya Heer Shah of Global Gujarati Vaishnav Vanik Samaj said professional garba dancers were brought in for workshops, while younger participants were more familiar with current music trends.
Workshops helped dancers prepare different routines for each of the nine days of Navaratri, he said. Describing the sessions as a fusion of modern and folk styles, he added that several videos from the workshops had already been posted on social media.
