Shiamak Davar is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

choreographer, noted as one of the first to bring contemporary

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and western forms of dance to India.Shiamak Davar
''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'', 10 December 2002 He is known as the guru of contemporary dance in India. He is responsible for modernizing India’s dance scene especially in the film and theatre industries. He is respected for his ever-evolving and very popular "Shiamak Style" of dance. He was the director of choreography for the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

, Melbourne and Commonwealth Games, Delhi. In 2011 he choreographed the dance sequences for the movie ''Mission Impossible 4''. Davar has choreographed Indian actors and celebrities for film and stage for events like the IIFA Awards and the Filmfare Awards.

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

actors

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Varun Dhawan Varun Dhawan (; born 24 April 1987) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. One of India's highest-paid actors, he has been featured in '' Forbes India'' Celebrity 100 list since 2014. He has starred in 11 consecutive box-office successes ...

, Ishaan Khattar were members of the Shiamak Davar Dance Company. Upcoming Indian actors

Ruslaan Mumtaz Ruslaan Mumtaz (born 2 August 1982) is an Indian film and television actor. He made his Bollywood debut in 2007 with '' MP3: Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar''. In 2013, he made his television debut with the role of Dhruv in '' Kehta Hai Dil Jee Le Zara'' ...

, Shubh and child actor

Darsheel Safary Darsheel Safary (born 9 March 1997) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films and television. Safary made his film debut with the leading role of a student with learning disorder in Aamir Khan's directorial debut, the critically acclaimed d ...

were also a part of the Shiamak Davar Dance Company. Davar won the 1997

National Film Award for Best Choreography The National Film Award for Best Choreography is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several awards p ...

for his work in the film ''

Dil to Pagal Hai ''Dil To Pagal Hai'' (; ), is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film directed by Yash Chopra. The film follows the love lives of the members of a musical troupe, in which two dancers played by Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor get ent ...

'', as well as the Lycra (R) MTV Style Awards 2007 for 'Most Stylish Song in a Film', for "Dhoom Again" in the Indian film ''

Dhoom 2 ''Dhoom 2'' (trans. Blast 2) is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Sanjay Gadhvi and written by Vijay Krishna Acharya, based on a story by producer Aditya Chopra, who backed the film at an estimated budget of under ...

''. In July 2011, Davar received an honorary doctorate from Middlesex University in recognition of his contribution to entertainment in India and throughout the world. Davar is a

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

-speaking

Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...

. Currently, he is also on the Board of Advisors of India's International Movement to Unite Nations (I.I.M.U.N.).

Choreographer

Davar began his career in choreography for Hindi cinema with the film ''

Dil To Pagal Hai ''Dil To Pagal Hai'' (; ), is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film directed by Yash Chopra. The film follows the love lives of the members of a musical troupe, in which two dancers played by Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor get ent ...

'', for which he won the president's

National Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate ...

. Having changed the way dance was perceived in Indian films, Davar went on to choreograph for Hindi films such as '' Taal'', ''

Kisna ''Kisna: The Warrior Poet'' is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language period romance film written, edited, produced and directed by Subhash Ghai and starring Vivek Oberoi (who plays the title role), Antonia Bernath, and Isha Sharvani. The musical film ...

'', ''

Bunty Aur Babli ''Bunty Aur Babli'' () is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language crime comedy film directed by Shaad Ali and written by Jaideep Sahni, based on a story by Aditya Chopra, who serves as producer under the Yash Raj Films banner. The film stars Abhishek Ba ...

'', ''

'', '' I See You'', ''

Taare Zameen Par ''Taare Zameen Par'', also known as ''Like Stars on Earth'' in English, is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language drama film produced and directed by Aamir Khan. The film stars Khan himself, along with Darsheel Safary, Tanay Chheda, Sachet Engineer, Vi ...

'', ''

Yuvvraaj ''Yuvvraaj'' () is a 2008 Indian drama film directed and produced by Subhash Ghai. The film stars Anil Kapoor, Salman Khan, Zayed Khan, Katrina Kaif and Boman Irani. ''Yuvvraaj'' is a musical story of a fragmented family of three brothers who t ...

'', ''

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi ''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'' (), also known as ''RNBDJ'', is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Aditya Chopra and produced by him and his father Yash Chopra under their banner of Yash Raj Films. The film stars ...

'', ''

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag ''Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'' () is a 2013 Hindi-language biographical sports drama film directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra from a script written by Prasoon Joshi. The story is based on the life of Milkha Singh, an Indian athlete and Olympian who w ...

'', ''

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'' and ''

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''. Shiamak has acted and choreographed in the movie '' Little Ziziou''. He released a hit pop album, ''Shabop'', for which he composed and sang songs with other Indian artists such as

Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. Personal life and early career Shankar Mahadevan was born in Chembur, Mumbai into a Tam ...

, Hariharan and Shweta Pandit as well as songs mixed and assorted by

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. Shiamak has been the performance and entertainment designer for shows such as the Sahara Sangeet Awards, the Shiamak Davar China Tou', the Seventh Cairo International Song Festival,

IIFA Awards The International Indian Film Academy Awards, popularly known as IIFA, is an annual awards ceremony for Bollywood. Produced by Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, the winners of the awards are decided by fans, who vote online for th ...

, Shiamak: The Spirit of Song and Dance South Africa, I Believe — A Shiamak Davar Spectacular and The Unforgettable World Tour. Shiamak has directed, designed and performed at global events like the

2006 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony The Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 26 March 2006. Performances Countdown The ceremony began with a countdown at the screen starting at 17, footage from ...

, the

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, the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

, Davos (2006) and entertained leaders including

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

who said, "the world must see you".

Singer

Shiamak is known for his electrifying and high energy live performances. He has often cited Elton John to be his hero

and John's influence on Shiamak is clearly discernible. As a recording artist, Shiamak made his debut with an English album Survive in 199

when pop music was still nascent in India.

Indian pop Indian pop music, also known as Indi-pop, refers to pop music produced in India that is independent from filmi soundtracks for Indian cinema, such as the music of Bollywood, which tends to be more popular. Indian pop is closely linked to Bolly ...

He made his Hindi Pop debut with the album ''Mohabbat Karle'', which sold 1.2 million copies in India. The song 'Jane Kisne' was quite a rage, especially amongst teenage girls, and was nominated for several awards, but winning none, as most awards went to Daler Mehndi's 'Ho Gayi Teri Balle Balle'. The title track "Mohabbat Karle" plagiarised its melody from Angelique Kidjo's Adouma. He also has other musical works in Hindi - Dil Chahe and Shabop. His latest album Shabop featured songs with

, Hariharan and Shweta Pandit. Shiamak has shared the stage with artists such as Sting,

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

and

Eddy Grant Edmond Montague Grant (born 5 March 1948) is a Guyanese-British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for his genre-blending sound; his music has blended elements of pop, British rock, soul, funk, reggae, electronic music, Af ...

.He was the opening act for

for his 2011 India concerts. He also performed for

Oprah Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', b ...

in 2012 during her visit to India.

Charity

As a philanthropist, he runs the VAF (Victory Arts Foundation) that teaches dance to underprivileged children and children with mental and physical disabilities to help them experience the pleasure of expression through "dance as therapy". .

References

External links

Shiamak Davar's Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davar, Shiamak Indian film choreographers Indian choreographers Living people Parsi people from Mumbai Artists from Mumbai 1961 births Filmfare Awards winners 20th-century Indian dancers Dancers from Maharashtra Best Choreography National Film Award winners