Amritan Shakti trumphs

The leader of the Amritam Shakti Dance Company collected the first prize of $75,000 which was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Community Development and Gender Affairs, from producer of the popular television talent show, Khayal Mohammed.

Later, Pooran told Newsday that the win came after many years of working hard in East Indian dance.

“I have been dancing for as long as I can remember. It has been a difficult journey for me as I have been trying at Mastana Bahar for more than four years as a background dancer,” he said.

Pooran said he decided to branch off on his own and form the dance company just eight months ago and within a short time, they were able to achieve great success. “I am happy that I took a chance in life and decided to choreograph my own dances,” he said.

Pooran’s group did a dance presentation to the song ‘Mere Dholna’ from the movie, Bhool Bhuliya. He said that he was fascinated by the story line where a young lady danced to the beat of the drum of a man she admired. In the end he was killed and the dancer became insane.

A group of nine dancers performed the classical dance against a backdrop specially built by Avinash Mungal of Platinum Designs of Freeport. Apart from the choreography, Pooran designed the costumes and applied make up for each of the girls in this dance sequence. Pooran, a teacher at the Academic College for Excellence in Couva for the past three years, is working toward a career in business management, while operating his dance studio in Couva. He thanked Anthony Khan and Central Plumbing and Hardware for believing in him and giving him assistance to make his dream a reality.

Also in winners’ row was classical singer Charanjeet Ramsuchit who placed second and collected $25,000. He sang a religious song in dedication to Lord Ganesh.

Police officer Satnarayan Ramdeo placed third, winning $15,000 in jewelry from Rajiv Jewelers for his rendition of the song ‘Janak Janak’. Kishan Bhimul, who placed fourth, won $14,000 from Trinity Brokers Limited and the members of the San Juan Youngsters Tassa took the fifth position winning $12,000 from Republic Bank.

In the Miss Naturally Fair competition, Shantel Ramsaroop won the $10,000 first prize sponsored by Indus Merchants Limited. Karishma Teekaram was first runner-up and second-runner- up was Amy Balchan.

Mohammed said that he is satisfied with the judges’ decision and he will be spending the next three months preparing for Children of Mastana which will begin in January.