Web film celebrates the journey of two young, male Navi Mumbai ballet dancers

Manish ChauhanTwo boys flying swivelling around midair and then getting into an Arabesque a ballet position where the dancer stands on one leg with raised leg extended in straight line to rear and foot pointed made a riveting montage in the latest film by 101India Titled The Ballerinos of Navi Mumbai the sixminute film by the portal that focuses on youthcentric content tells the story of two kids who hail from chawls and have excelled in Ballet a dance form conventionally associated with women Defying the gender stereotype and battling the odds of social strata 21yearold Manish Chauhan and 15yearold Amir Shah were discovered by Ballet trainer Yehuda Maor Both have bagged a yearlong scholarship at a ballet school in PortlandStarting stepsldquoI did Ballet myself long back We scour newspapers we look for stories that are crosscultural and left of centre We knew someone who recommended the boys to us for their unique stories Their real story had a potent mix of drama and the ability to inspire Thatrsquos how we decided to make the filmrdquo says chief creative officer Cyrus Oshidar ldquoThe boys are now in the process of getting a visa The last time they were offered a full scholarship from another American school and couldnrsquot make it because they didnrsquot get a visa They are really worried this timerdquo he addsAmiruddin ShahWhen we tried to reach the boys and their teacher we learnt just how paranoid they were After several hours of being told that he and Shah were in a queue and were then sent back to arrange for missing documents we finally got through Chauhan ldquoThere is no scope for Ballet in India I hope this scholarship works outrdquo says Chauhan in a mix of Hindi and English ldquoI didnrsquot want to dance I was more interested in doing stunts and back flips like I had seen Akshay Kumar do in a filmrdquo he reveals bursting out into peals of laughter His honesty strikes a chord almost immediately when he tells us that he found the terms in Ballet the toughest to understandldquoI auditioned for a reality show and was told that I should get professional training The fees at classes run by big choreographers were too high for me to afford Danceworx was comparatively not as expensive When I began classes Ashley Lobo spotted me and offered me a scholarship He introduced me to Yehuda sir who said I was good but needed more practicerdquo admits Chauhan ldquoHe is the one who found Amir too He noticed his feet would be ideal for Balletrdquo he adds Chauhan whose father is a cab driver is yet to finish his BMS Bachelors in Management Studies Shah has only studied till the ninth gradeldquoI used to do cartwheels and flips at a park near my house My brother was an instructor at Danceworx and they needed someone to do cartwheels for a production Thatrsquos how I started training I would say Irsquom going to classes at home and head to dance classes instead I love dance and am not very interested in studies I was doing my stretches after a workout when Yehuda Sir looked at me and said point your toes I didnrsquot know much English then so didnrsquot understand what he was saying Later the other instructors told me he was saying that I have perfect Ballet feet which are not common in Indiardquo says Shah with disarming innocence ldquoI had never seen or heard about ballet before I confused it with Belly dancing and thought it was for girls But because of Sir I now know betterrdquo he adds with a giggleDance against the oddsChauhan whose mother is teary eyed in the video as she talks about stitching his worn out shoes each time he needs to attend Ballet class is keen to work hard and get absorbed by a dance company in America ldquoI want to get a job with a dance company that travels Dancers get a salary when they are employed by the company unlike in Indiardquo he shares Their teacher a mediashy Maor was difficult to trace When we did manage to get him to talk about the boys we didnrsquot miss the pride in his voice ldquoManish is great with jumps stunts and tricks while Amir is more artistic They have tough lives but didnrsquot miss a class Their focus strengthened the relationshiprdquoFrom the masterlsquoTheir muscle structure and feet with a high arch that allow the body to go all the way up are gifts from god I hope the visa isnrsquot a problem this time They will get a good life education and great training if this opportunity materialises Itrsquos only the beginningrsquo says Maor his voice overcome with emotion over the phone lineLog on to www101indiacom The film goes live tomorrow