Shalene - Star of Rousillac

At the Mastana Bahar’s auditions last Sunday in Rousillac, the name Shalene Fazia School of Dance was announced and everyone looked back to see a bunch of girls dressed in beautiful pink and blue oufits, gracefully mounting the steps leading to the stage before a crowd of thousands at the Rousillac Community Centre. The last girl to mount the stage was dressed in a purple shalwar chameez outfit. She was Shalene Fazia Polo, 22, who stunned the audience with her intricate dance moves on stage as she attempted the East Indian dance, “Dupatta.” Fazia led the group making different dance patterns on stage.

Music filled the community centre, as the audience took in this exciting performance by this young lady and the members of her group. The young boys in the audience whistled when Fazia made her way off the stage. Fazia looked like a Bollywood star who just dropped out off a Stardust magazine in her elaborate costumes and heavy eye make-up. No one would have guessed that this young lady was responsible for choreographing, tutoring, designing costumes and applying make-up for all these young women who came from the Rousillac area. She worked for 12 hours a day for two months to get the girls ready for the stage. Yet on the day of the competition she was composed and very patient, after all the hard work. She is like a walking studio, getting this big group ready to perform before thousands of people.

Wiping the perspiration off her face she smiled lightly as she spoke about her involvement in dance. “My life is centre around dance. It is a full time profession and it takes deep concentration and many hours of hard work,” she said. She noted that choreographing an East Indian dance item is difficult, because the words from the songs are in Hindi. “I have to first find out the meaning of the song before I could actually put the various steps to it. And I spend a lot of time experimenting with the steps before I could arrive at the one that should be used in the dance,” she said. Fazia started dancing eight years ago with the Shri Devi Dance Company led by Ria Soodeen of Vessigny. She studied dance for five years before she went on a tour of Guyana, Suriname and New York with the group as a back-up dancer. She noted that Ria was an excellent teacher because she often lectured to her students on the importance of discipline in the group. “I have great respect for Ria. She was a perfect tutor and I am now implementing all that she taught me, now that I am a tutor of dance,” she said.

Two years ago Fazia decided to try her hand at choreographing and it paid off. Her own styles are different from that of her teacher. She has a style that is uniquely Fazia — full of vigour and zest. Among the different types of dances, she really enjoys doing film songs and chutney songs. “The people of this country enjoy these types of dances and this is why I concentrate on these two types,” she said. Fazia is married to her childhood sweetheart, Dave Polo. Her husband of fourteen months supports her in her chosen career. He is quick to assist her in the household chores when she is busy choreographing and designing costumes. Although she is married, Fazia’s parents, Farida and Rafique Mohammed, support her in every step she takes as a tutor. They both encourage and advise her about dealing with the parents of the students of her class. Fazia told People that she doesn’t regret marrying at a young age. “We both love each other and we got married. I am more settled now that I am a married woman,” she said. Her husband is always there for her, she added. For the future, Fazia would like to perform on international stages throughout the world. She would also like to go to India and visit the Bollywood set.