Question a woman about a moment when she can envision herself being powerful and, in all probability, her response will include the words ‘while walking in a pair of heels. This footwear silhouette—no matter the heel height—is recognised for imparting poise and even helping one develop a sense of elan. Now, conjure up an image of you not strutting, but dancing in heels. For many, this may seem like an outlandish—painful, maybe?—idea. However, a number of citizens across Delhi-NCR are taking a fancy to it thanks to Heels dance (or Heels as it is called), a dance genre that is gradually becoming popular in the region.
It is often cited that Heels is a bold and risqué take on Jazz Funk. Sharing her thoughts on the origin, Ashok Vihar-based choreographer and dancer Amala Sivaji (32)—the Heels educator has co-founded a platform to spur this genre forward named ‘Shakti Heels Intensive’ (@shaktiheels on Instagram) along with Devasmita Sharma and Kelli Forman—says, “The basic foundation comes from jazz and ballet. But, it also does come from a lot of social dancing styles because it involves footwork, postures, and styles.” Dharna Narang (30)—the dancer and choreographer who is the director of Taglioni School Performing Arts Gurugram—adds, “Heels come from commercial dancing. There is a famous [French dancer and choreographer] teacher, Yanis Marshall; he is one of the first who started dancing in heels. It is a relatively new dance form.”
Numbers game
Ankita Gupta (24)— a dancer, choreographer and instructor from Vasant Kunj, who conducts workshops at Taglioni— mentions that the first Heels workshop she took was “online, in the middle of the pandemic. I had about 55 people doing that class.” Dancer and choreographer Antarviksha Parihar (22) says that “usually 15 to 20 people generally show up” for workshops. Narang, on the other hand, says that the headcount in workshops is less in Gurgaon, “I have not had more than five to six students,” she adds. Sivaji shares, “We did some of our intensives recently, and our classes had about 30-40 people. It is a growing community. ”
C for confidence
Every person interviewed in this story mentioned that Heels is a dance form that helps boost confidence in the practitioner. “When you are in a dance class with heels on, it is about how you are feeling and that becomes a fundamental part of that journey of self-exploration,” says Parihar. Gupta highlights, “As soon as you add an extra inch to how tall you are right now, you instantly feel empowered and dancing just adds onto the comfort a person has with his/her body.” Talking about Heels being a dance form for both men and women, Sivaji concludes, “Heels are not about being a female and being sexy in class. It is about expressing yourself as an individual; you feel empowered when you can express and accept yourself however you are true, in every form.”