Republic Day Parade: Varanasi’s all-girl dance group selected for Vande Bharatam display

All six performers have been practising in Delhi since January 5. They have been rehearsing for nearly 12 hours evert day at the Indira Gandhi Stadium.

LUCKNOW Varanasi’s all-girl Kritika and Group dance team has been selected out of over 50 groups from Uttar Pradesh for the Vande Bharatam display at the Republic Day parade. The dance troupe was shortlisted after winning the annual competition -- ‘Vande Bharatam’ -- conducted by the Union ministry of culture.

The winning Kritika and Group dance team is a group of six girls who perform Kajri folk dance. (HT Photo)

As part of the contest, teams uploaded their dance video to the official site. This time the theme of the competition was ‘Nari Shakti’. The winning Kritika and Group dance team is a group of six girls who perform Kajri folk dance. Its members include -- Kritika Singh, Divya Shrivastava, Sanvi Jaiswal, Baidehi Mishra, Twinkle Chaurasiya, and Asleena Jaiswal.

When asked about the competition held over two months (November and December), Kritika Singh said, “Every time, our team crossed a level, we had our fingers crossed. When the team got selected, we were all left speechless.” She added that as many as 450 dancers have been selected to participate from all over the country at the Republic Day parade.

“We will be performing a ten-minute choreography in our regional costumes,” said Singh. Five of the members of this group are in their final year of their school. They are among the youngest to get this opportunity.

All six performers have been practising in Delhi since January 5. They have been rehearsing for nearly 12 hours evert day at the Indira Gandhi Stadium. “For a week now, we have been rehearsing at the venue at the Kartavya Path,” added Singh.

Sharing her excitement for the big day, Singh said, “So many people from different places have assembled here to rehearse for the parade. All the things that we used to watch on television -- including the Air Force and military displays -- we are getting to see in person this time. It is a proud moment for us to be a part of this.”