Bollywood is big business these days: First it was Slumdog Millionaire, then the Oscars, and the next thing you know, the East Indian dance style is popping up everywhere, from So You Think You Can Dance and America’s Best Dance Crew to SpongeBob SquarePants. But as local Bollywood dance maven Renu Kansal says, “It’s all for good reason; it’s lively, energetic, fun, upbeat and vibrant...and who doesn’t want more of that in life anyway?”

Kansal and her Bollywood West troupe and students will be out proving those words in force today when they perform throughout the newly renovated Denver Pavilions, 500 16th Street, at 2 p.m., as part of the urban mall’s ongoing unveiling celebration. And while the main action will center on the courtyard in front of Maggiano’s, Kansal says that her more than forty dancers will also be shimmying up the escalators, on the roof and in other unorthodox locations. And that, she promises, will provide what might just be the ultimate Bollywood experience.

On Tuesday, November 24, Bollywood West will also rock the halftime show at the Denver Nuggets game (versus New Jersey at the Pepsi Center); a link to specially discounted game tickets is provided on the Bollywood West website. “It will be a short show, more like a crash course,” Kansal says. “We’ll get in there and give them as much Bollywood as we can in the time allowed.”

For more information on either event, or to learn how to sign up for Bollywood West’s dance classes, go to www.bollywoodwest.com. Chak de!
Sat., Nov. 21, 2 p.m., 2009