The Auckland Diwali Festival 2019 will transform Queen Street and Aotea Square into a colourful and mouth-watering spectacle on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 October from midday until 9 p.m. each day.
“Come and enjoy bright lights, energetic dance performances, incredible Indian delicacies and fireworks at New Zealand’s largest Indian cultural festival.” Spokesperson form AKL Diwali team said.
Renowned dance group, B.D.ESI is one of the many dance troupes who are scheduled to rock the stage and enthral the 10,000 audiences at any given time on Aotea Square.
In a short conversation with B.D.ESI troupe, group spokesperson Rahul Chopra tells more about his team’s love for dance and bringing new moves every time they perform on stage.
Tell us about the history of your dance group.
Our dance group, B.D.ESI has formed many new friendships, and we treat each other as family. Being their leader, Diya Beharie - my goal before I left the school this year was to erase the stereotypes people had about our culture and Bollywood. Despite our newly formed group; we created a safe space for each other and place to express ourselves.
Describe your dance style.
With our group, we have four to five people helping to create choreography. Each choreographer allows the group to explore different aspects of the culture that is linked to Indian dance; for example, I am traditionally modern. We incorporate all those styles into our dance routine, which makes it unique.
Why should people watch you at Diwali Festival?
We are of a range of different nationalities, cultures, ages, genders, and we manage to dance together like a family. It has not been an easy process for us at school this year, and our group dependent on being student-led. Despite this, we have managed to put together a set that is quite unique/
What do you love about Diwali Festival?
Diwali is the festival of lights; a time to reflect on things, be with your loved ones, celebrate and create new memories. There is another Diya in the group besides me, but personally, I feel as though it is my second birthday. It is going to be an honour to perform for this event.
What food do you plan on trying at the festival?
We are looking forward to introducing our foods to the non-Indians in our group. However, we aren't sure about the kind of foods that will be available at the festival. Diwali usually has the best sweets, let alone the Auckland Diwali Festival having great food every year.
ISSUE
Leave a Comment