In Conversation with India's first Body Percussionist - Bharat Verma

Bharat Verma, India’s first body percussionist and the Founder and Director of Heartbeators Dance Studio, and an internationally acclaimed choreographer. He has mastered body percussion after rigorous practice and perseverance, and have performed in venues such as the Lincoln Centre and Kaatsban International Dance Centre at the Big Apple. Another humbling moment in his career was when he represented India and performed in the 2018 Youth Assembly organized by United Nations Friendship Ambassador Organisation in their New York headquarters. He has also choreographed for the Bollywood movie Lucknow Central where he aided actors such as Farhan Akhtar, Deepak Dobriyal, Gippi Grewal, and Innamulhaq. His highlighted contribution was presenting body percussion for one of the songs in Ek Kabootar. Recently, he gained popularity as a participant in the third season of The Voice India – AR Rahman’s reality talent competition. He was able to showcase body percussion to some of the most prestigious names in the Indian music fraternity. In conversation with BananiVista, Bharat shares more about his passion and his future plans. Bharat Verma BV: What inspired you to be a body percussionist? Bharat: My roots belong to a humble background in Udaipur which is why my father dreamt of educating me for a white-collar job. However, I had formed my own dreams of becoming a dancer and choreographer by the time I turned 13. I began skipping school and practicing dance instead. My lack of interest in academics resulted in repeated failures in examinations, and I decided to take up dancing full-time. I began choreographing wedding dances in Udaipur and utilized the vast opportunities presented by the wedding destination. On one such occasion, Big Medicine Charitable Trust (BMCT) introduced me to Vanaver Caravan, a music company that performs contemporary and core percussive dance worldwide. They had, in fact, come to Udaipur to perform body percussion. After talking to them, they saw my interest and passion in their trade and was invited to the United States. Love, at first sight, is difficult to explain but my interest surged because the rhythmic musical dance form is unique, challenging, expressive and high-octane. I thereon had an immediate urge to introduce the beauty of it to my motherland. Bharat with Voice team at Adnans house BV: How did you set up your dance studio? Challenges you faced so far? How did you overcome them? Bharat: My Dance Studio Heartbeators was set up in Udaipur in 2005. But there was not much work since I didn’t have many students back then. I used to get to choreograph some weddings here and there but nothing great really. Those days dance and choreographing were not looked up upon and we used to face the heat of the situation. The real game changers were the television reality shows like the Talent shows etc which, started post-2009. This got us visibility and acceptance and parents started sending their kids willingly to train with us. From 2012 I started traveling to the USA to teach Bollywood and other styles there, which helped me getting more students in my own native place in Udaipur. And in 2017 I got an opportunity to choreograph Farhan Akhtar's Bollywood movie  “Lucknow Central” and then I decided to open One Branch in Mumbai. Since the past 2 years, we are present in Mumbai too and things are slowly and steadily changing in a better way for us.   BV: Would you please share your experiences in details of "The Voice India"? Bharat: My experience in The Voice India was simply remarkable. I got the opportunity to form strong bonds with some of the biggest emerging talents in Indian music today, which was a pleasure as well. Being in the presence of living legends such as AR Rahman Sir and Adnan Sami Sir itself was massive for me. However, the most humbling moments were when they performed with me on stage. The most important part was that they appreciated and propagated body percussion which would’ve certainly struck a chord with Indian audiences to perform as well. Workshop USA BV: Your future plans? Bharat: My aims are to perform body percussion on both national and international fronts as much as possible. I want to showcase my own twists of body percussion and spread the art form across the country. I also plan to expand Heartbeators Dance Studio to other Indian cities and sharing my understanding of various dance forms to people belonging to all age groups and backgrounds. To know more such interesting personalities, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Download our magazine Spunky Indian for exclusive stories.