INTERVIEW: Get To Know The Wedding Pro | Satyen Babla, Founder And Chief Choreographer At DANS
Written by on August 30, 2016.
Tagged under: Founder And Chief Choreographer At DANS, INTERVIEW: Get to know the wedding Pro, Satyen Babla, sangeet dubai, wedding choreography Dubai, wedding dance dubai
Get to Know the Wedding Pro
Each week, we shine the spotlight on Bride Club ME vendor club members, allowing you, our reader, to get up close and personal with some of the best wedding vendors in town. Here, you can learn more about the people behind some of the businesses you may be using to make your wedding day perfect!
This week we have the privilege of showcasing Satyen Babla, Founder and Chief Choreographer at DANS – Dance Avec Nigel & Satyen. Below, Satyen provides us with an exclusive insight into the company, tells us all about the ‘Sangeet’ and shares with us what he loves the most about his job.
How long has DANS been established, and what exactly do you do?
DANS is a pioneer in dancing education in the Middle East. It was inaugurated three years ago and we specialise in helping people develop the confidence to dance; be it at a family wedding, dance demonstration or at an international competition.
What made you decide to set up this business?
The inspiration to dance came from a friend calling me an embarrassment at a party because I wasn’t very comfortable on the dance floor. I was challenged by this rather than demotivated and have never looked back since.
Once my confidence had improved, it was important to me to help other people who were facing the same challenges as I did and so I started teaching. My experiences help me understand the psyche of a new dancer. We try to make dance easy, fun and instinctive rather than clinical and rigid.
What do you love most about your work?
I always think of ‘dance’ as ‘DANS’ now. DANS embodies the feelings, emotion, passion, expression, joy and satisfaction of movement. Needless to say it means so much to me that I have made it my vocation. What gives me the most satisfaction is seeing a new dancer come out of their shell and become comfortable with the movement and music.
Tell us about the process you go through with the bride and groom, from the very first consultation to the wedding itself…
The first meeting is usually introductory. We speak about DANS and the weddings we have choreographed, as well as running through different themes we have done in the past.
We then discuss, on the same day or at a subsequent meeting, the requirements of the couple – such as how many minutes of choreography they require, the theme they have in mind, song preferences (if any), training hours and locations preferred.
If the couple is unsure of what they want, we help them explore their options in regard to themes and songs that may suit their particular circumstance.
The skit is planned out with requisite songs and edits, as well as the dialogues that are part of the event if needed. Once these details are finalised, practice sessions begin and we train all family members taking part in the skit. For destination weddings, a twin team of DANStructors fly to the location to train and oversee light and sound, thus ensuring a glitch free event and peace of mind for the family.
Do you have any exciting projects coming up any time soon?
We are in talks to collaborate with a school for people who are deaf and have a passion for dance. We hope to raise a performance from this school in the near future.
I also want to teach goal setting and accomplishment through DANS, such as how making up your mind to achieve something and then putting in the hours can culminate in glory, just like a performance.
Can you explain to some of our readers who might not know, what a Sangeet Skit is and how it is incorporated into a wedding?
Most people are familiar with the ‘first dance’ at weddings. With us Indians it’s a bit more elaborate. Music and dance are the hallmarks of the pre-wedding week and multiple events are organised revolving around dance and celebration. One such event is the Sangeet. The Sangeet was traditionally an event where the families would sing, play musical instruments and dance.
Today the event involves parties from both sides performing dances and sometimes small snippets of drama or skits telling the story of how the couple met, parental opposition, the struggle to win the girl’s hand etc. This is usually a choreographed affair that serves as entertainment for the event.
What other services do you offer, as well as the Sangeet Skit?
In relation to weddings, we also help with finalising other requirements such as wedding planners, DJs or entertainers through our own connections, if required.
In addition to this, DANS conducts sessions for all dance forms including salsa, contemporary, hip hop, bollywood, jazz, rock & roll and jive at four studio locations in Dubai: Bur Dubai, Karama, Tecom and Business Bay.
We also provide full package services in Group Weight Loss Classes, other event choreography, trained performers, training for school/college dance clubs, personal training (DANS & Fitness), corporate stress busters and ‘Giving Life a Meaning’ – our charity events arm.
How do you manage trust from your clients? After all it is the most important day of their lives.
Having successfully choreographed over 200 sangeets, trust is rarely an issue. New clients invariably know someone whose wedding they were trained for or attended as a guest which makes building trust much simpler. We are also very well versed and professional in what we do and I think that comes across in meetings.
What budgets do you cater for?
We have certain minimum budgets we work with but in general we are flexible with adjusting the training and service packages to suit the budget of the client. This depends on whether they request a complete Sangeet package or an hourly rate.
If you could give one piece of wedding planning advice to our readers (brides to-be) what would it be?
I think it is very important that brides approach their big day with a calm frame of mind. It is a day that will be immortalised in various ways and those are moments that you want to have happy memories of.
For this to happen it is important to work with people you fully trust. By all means be tough in selecting who you want to trust with your big day, but once you do, let them do their thing and enjoy the show.
Lastly, why did you choose to list with www.brideclubme.com?
Bride Club ME is the most comprehensive resource for UAE brides to be or other brides planning UAE destination weddings. From legalities to trends and suppliers, the site covers all aspects of wedding planning and with a wide forum community, it reaches out to all ethnicities providing a supportive network for all circumstances brides may experience.
As a supplier, it seemed an obvious choice to list with Bride Club ME.
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