US skating champs create Bollywood magic on ice

The pair blended classic Bollywood dance steps with athletic fluidity, combining the rich palette of colours of Indian movies with innovative lifts and speed. The result was pure cross-cultural magic on ice.

As Meryl Davis and Charlie White grooved to 'Kajra re' from Bunty Aur Babli and scores from Devdas, sweeping the ice dance title at the US Figure Skating Championships over the weekend, it was as much a tribute to the tenacity of the duo as a homage to Bollywood.

The magic has spread on the Web. Various versions of the pair’s Bollywood performance have attracted several hundred thousand hits on YouTube. According to the Associated Press, one video alone has over 2,10,000 views — an astronomical number for a figure-skating programme.

In the process, the pair, from the University of Michigan, has humbled five-time US champions Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto in each segment of the three-stage competition. They turned instant favourites with the Spokane Arena crowd. Then they won over the judging panel at Saturday’s free dance to 'Music of the Night' from Phantom of the Opera. Their next stop, of course, is the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in February.

Coach Marina Zoueva said she wanted something that would make Davis and White stand out. She was inspired by, of all things, the pattern of a multi-coloured Hermes scarf of Indian dancers, to turn to Bollywood. Davis, 23, and White, 22, who have been skating together for 13 years, said they took pains to make their performance authentic. They worked hard with Anuja Rajendra, who combines Bollywood music and dance with exercise at her BollyFit studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

“It was very important for us to do research and make sure we could do the theme justice, and make sure that we weren’t going to offend anyone or do something that was completely off base,” said Davis, an anthropology major.

Meanwhile, as Davis dazzles in a red, gold and blue sari-like costume and the golden-haired White in a kurta with jewelled cuffs, the US couple is firmly in the mix for a medal in Vancouver. And while they’ll represent the US, they can probably count on support from India.