27 September,2026 08:22 AM IST | Mumbai | Arpika Bhosale
The House Of Sway has become famous for their Lavani performance
House of Sway was formed in 2019, by a group of then college students who were rejected by dance schools/troupes for various reasons and found solidarity under a group that just wanted to dance.
Founding member Darshan Sonawane was in college when he went to join a group and was told he was overweight. "If you want to join dance troupes or groups, they have some very outdated ideas about how a dancer should look. Looking lean and to fit into all these body categories, has actually nothing to do with the person's capacity or talent," he says. Sonawane, who happened to have a friend who is was also a trans person, told him that it was time they started their own troupe. "Once we said âcome one come all, all we need is a passion to dance and openness to learn', we saw people wanting to join," he adds.
Today, the troupe has 12 to 13 members, who come from the queer and trans communities. "We have gay men, trans persons, the non-binary, and recently someone told me that they are demisexual. We welcome one and all," he says.
Everyone in the troupe has day jobs, and some trans members are attached to a gharana. Many don't have the means to pay for dancing space. "Right now, we practise most of the time at a ground behind my house in Mazgaon. We really cannot afford a rehearsal space," says Sonawane.
The ground behind his home has become a sort of safe haven for the group to practise, but it wasn't like this at first. "At first, when we would go to the ground to practise, people would laugh, some would make videos of us. But slowly, that started to change - they became more polite. They ask questions out of curiosity. They say things like you can come and practise while we are on the ground and now they have gone from toh (he) to ti (she)," he adds.
Another important and core member of the group is Ritz, who is non-binary and was heavily trolled when they came on the stage to perform Lavani in a Navari, a beard, and no wig. "When the video of that dance went viral people commented saying things like âsaree pe daadi' and non-biryani, but it really got bad because it went back to my family," they say. The challenges that LGBTQIA+ folk face does transfer on to the stage and that's what happened with Ritz. "I was under tremendous pressure from my family and I missed a step or two and, of course, the audience and people on social media were ruthless. Comments said, âanyway we are tolerating them but they can't even dance well'. To them, I want to say that even the biggest stars fumble on stage. We are simple and small artistes who aren't even professionally trained. I would urge people to be more empathetic and understand that we are going through a lot just like your favourite artiste, who might not hit the right note or step during a performance," they add.
The troupe has been doing all kinds of dances from Bollywood to hip-hop, but it's the recent pivot to Lavani that has gotten them the most love. In fact, at a recent event held by Gay Bombay, the queer and trans advocacy collective was awarded, and they performed before the crème de la crème of the queer community, receiving a standing ovation. "In 2027, the goal is to launch our Lavani show Tamasha United. We are looking for ways to take our performance to a wider audience and are working on our craft as well," they say. "Finally, we are just artistes who want our art to be showcased."
Well, we hope that 2027 brings you more appreciation and many more shows. Event managers⦠Are you listening?
