BHANGRAlicious: Amreen Gill delivering astounding Bhangra and Gidha lessons in Vancouver

Amreen Gill delivering astounding Bhangra and Gidha lessons: The experienced choreographer opened up on her journey behind launching BHANGRAlicious.

Having spent a decade in teaching Bhangra and Gidha in Amritsar, choreographer-turned-model Amreen Gill has successfully spread her wings in Vancouver on the back of launching BHANGRAlicious, a platform which aims at teaching Punjab's cultural dance forms to both Punjabi and non-Punjabi people.

From teaching the aforementioned dance forms in Vancouver to touring other cities in Canada, Gill was vocal about her journey in a recent interview with Punjabi Mania.

Gill highlighted the role of social media platforms helping her to gain prominence and also talked about several facets revolving around BHANGRAlicious. Below are excerpts from the interview:

You transformed from being a self-taught dancer to training in Bhangra and Gidha for 10 years. What drove you to give a decade of your life to Bhangra and Gidha before eventually pursuing it as a career?

I have always been very passionate about dance. Bhangra and Gidha just happens to be in my blood because I come from a family of talented folk singers and dancers, mostly women who were unfortunately not allowed to pursue these art forms.

Having said that, I have been lucky enough to have progressive parents who allowed me to train in Bhangra and Gidha during my school and university years in Amritsar. I never imagined I would pursue dance as a career one day. It just seemed like an unrealistic dream. But thanks to social media platforms like Youtube, Instagram and Tik Tok, my dream has come true.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_ZEF37Ahu-/

Had you taught Bhangra and Gidha professionally before launching BHANGRAlicious? How did the thought of BHANGRAlicious come into being?

I have been teaching and choreographing since I was about eight. But I had never done it professionally. I started teaching professionally after launching BHANGRAlicious' YouTube channel. When you grow up and get a full-time job, you lose some key components of your life. For me, that was dance. I started BHANGRAlicious simply because I wanted to have a reason to dance again. And it’s probably the best decision I have ever made.

Is BHANGRAlicious a one-woman show? If no, tell us about your team and how do you distribute roles and responsibilities?

BHANGRAlicious is far from a one-woman team. Even though I am the one in front of the camera, my brother Swarndeep Singh Gill is responsible for most of the behind-the-scenes work including concept, videography, and editing.

BHANGRAlicious is a sibling joint venture. I also routinely collaborate with my dance students, friends, and other talented artists/dancers in Vancouver for YouTube projects. As our brand grows, we hope to grow our dedicated team to beyond two team members.

Suppose I am a beginner and end up on your website with no/minimal knowledge of BHANGRAlicious. What should be my first step to enroll myself?

The first step would be to watch my free YouTube BHANGRAlicious tutorials which you can do on my website. If you like the way I teach and are serious about becoming a better dancer, get access to my Beginner Bhangra Series for a one-time payment of $12.99, where you can learn 26 bhangra steps and a full song choreography on 'Tera Yaar Bolda' by the late Surjit Bindrakhia. In total, it’s two hours of classes that are yours to keep and practice with as many times as you want.

When @iamgarrysandhu said YEAH BABY, we felt that ?????????? #giddha #bhangra pic.twitter.com/aDPynS6nAB

— bhangralicious (@bhangralicious) March 9, 2020

The services you provide are not in one form. I mean there are private one-on-one dance lessons, there are group sessions, there are workshops in different cities and there are YouTube tutorials and so on. How often do you conduct workshops outside of where you are based and which cities have you already covered?

I started doing workshops in Vancouver, where I am based. I get a lot of requests for workshops in India and the US, and in other cities in Canada. And my goal was to begin travelling in 2020 and conduct workshops in India, Canada, and the US.

In fact, I was planning a workshop in Arizona in the US when the COVID-19 situation escalated. For now, my workshop plans are on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why I have given students the option to engage in an online dance class with me.

What is the biggest challenge of teaching Bhangra and Gidha outside of Punjab (especially in a foreign country)?

Punjabis and non-Punjabis everywhere enjoy learning Bhangra and Gidha. At least, that’s been my experience so far. Gidha gets a little tricky sometimes because it’s hard to enjoy Gidha if you don’t speak or understand Punjabi. Gidha is all about expressing the words of the Boli with your movements and facial expressions. It can be difficult to master if you are not fluent in Punjabi. But my non-Punjabi students still love practicing their Gidha steps, especially the double addi.

Since you are a trained choreographer, have you ever worked in the same (or any other) capacity in the Punjabi entertainment industry? Do you have any ambition of working in Punjabi films/music videos?

I have worked as a model and a choreographer with VIP record affiliated Boombox Studios for some of their music videos. All of these videos were shot in Vancouver. I haven’t received an offer for a Punjabi film yet, but if a nice script comes along, I would love to be a part of it. Punjabi music and film industry are rapidly growing, and I would love to contribute to its growth worldwide as an artist. I am very proud of my culture and heritage, and take every opportunity to share it with the world.