SHIAMAK Winter Funk show was like an awards show where everyone was a winner and it was a spectacular performing arts evening.
Things evolve in an organic bottom-up way. The dances were no different, as the dancers practised endless hours to synchronize the step-drum-step-beat of the narrative.
Neither is the evolution of SHIAMAK London, now in its 16th Funk in a row starting from 2011 with sold-out audiences of over 1100 people witnessing the show at Watford Colosseum on 1st December 2018.
Over 400 students from Harrow, Wembley, Southall, Ilford, Croydon, Dartford & Central London performed at this year’s Winter Funk.
‘Awards Night’ theme for this year’s Winter Funk
With the theme being ‘Awards Night’, the show opened with the dance team paying homage to the biggest Bollywood stars.
Results of a poll conducted by SHIAMAK London with 400 participants also led to awards for the Best Dancer Male, Best Dancer Female, Best Debut Male, Best Debut Female and the Spirit of Dance during the show.*
With each Bollywood performance the show transported the audience to whimsical reels lush with imagery:
From mustard fields to a rainbow-coloured university campus to mehndi nights in a grand haveli, slingshot in hand, to rain-drenched platforms at the train station to a morning in IIT exploring the metaphysical by solving the question of the chicken vs the egg, where either way at the end “All izz well.”
In this celebratory way, SHIAMAK London Instructors, led by Shruti Shah and Rohan Shah who have travelled all the way from India.
They were accompanied by Devashree Pande, Diya Lakhani, Manka Rangar and Yashni Shah, continue to inspire the Indian community by teaching kids how to dream big – in Technicolor and reminding adults how to never stop dreaming.
Honourary Guests who attended
In addition to local community performances and awards, dignitaries were also recognized.
Brent Leader Mr Muhammmed Butt was given an appreciation award for his outstanding contribution towards Encouraging Young Talent within the Brent Community as the organisation heads towards the celebration of Brent2020 – a cultural milestone of Brent borough.
Over £1m of funding has been awarded to Brent borough to curate a program of cultural events.
At this show, the purveying theme of ‘Awards Night’ led to gratitude awards for several local talents for their outstanding contribution to South Asian Arts & Culture in the UK, presented by Mr George from Asian Voice Newspaper, Anushka Arora – a Celebrity RJ, and cabinet member Amer Agha.
Celebrity singer and music composer Navin Kundra was awarded a trophy for his contribution to music and dance in the UK.
When will Winter Funk be Broadcasted on TV?
The spectacular evening was hosted by Anushka Arora and Sunrise Radio was the official radio partner of the event.
The show will be telecasted on ‘SONY TV UK’ in December 2018 (Details will be revealed on SHIAMAK London social media pages).
Winter Funk was telecasted live on SHIAMAK London YouTube channel for friends & family of all the performers across the globe. Over 7000 people witnessed the show live at the link below:
http://bit.ly/winterfunk2018live
