2009 has been an incredibly successful year for FLEX FX with the team recently back from Oslo, Norway. A team of 25 dancers, along with Naz Choudhury the director and choreographer, flew to Oslo last month for the World Music Festival. The event, a collaboration between FLEX FX and X-Ray, brought together a maelstrom of styles from bhangra to African dance and FLEX FX were there to bring their unique mixture of hip-hop, contemporary, kathak and break-dancing all within a Bollywood narrative structure to the expectant crowd of Oslo’s finest. The group’s diverse mixture of Asian and non-Asian dancers and varying dance styles went down a storm in Norway with the group picking up an unexpected fan along the way, the Princess of Norway!
Being regular fixtures at London’s Zee Carnival FLEX FX has gained notoriety over the years in the British Asian community thanks to crowd pleasing performances of both modern hip-hop infused Bollywood as well as older more traditional folk type songs. The team are an eclectic mix of dancers specialising in a multitude of styles demonstrating the multi-faceted approach that FLEX takes to Bollywood with many of the songs used being westernised Hip-hop beats coupled with traditional Indian vocals. FLEX FX also performed at the recent Asian Achievers Awards at Wembley Stadium to a packed room of influential heads of business, politics and enterprise. Both performances wowed the audience with much praise being voiced for the talented group. Naz Choudhury reminds us however that it’s not all glitz and glamour.
‘We are a diverse group of talented and committed individuals that truly come alive on stage. Our unique range of modern and historic dance styles including hip-hop, contemporary, salsa, kathak, and more traditional Indian dancing all come together successfully making us stand out from the crowd. With hours of rehearsals, grit and determination we pulled together as a team to produce one of the best shows FLEX FX has ever done. Over the past 5 years we’ve hosted some of the biggest events in the UK working alongside countless mainstream artists including Shahrukh Khan and Jay Sean and 2010 promises to be even better.’
So what’s next for this hardworking band of dancers? The group will, in the New Year, be holding auditions for skilled individuals to join as they prepare to stage a two act west-end style show. The show, in its fourth year, combines acting, singing and dancing within a compelling story of love romance. After all, it wouldn’t be Bollywood without a love story!
Annual Britz Dhamaka 2007
14th April 2007, Royal Albert Hall
Following the unparalleled success of the Dhamaka Project 2004-06, this project marks the resurgence of the most impeccable contemporary bollywood project the UK has witnessed to date. The Dhamaka project is an amalgamation of the most talented, ambitious and self-disciplined hopefuls in the country, embodied in a blasting bollywood musical. If you thought the eclectic scope of ’04’s assembly was a force not to be reckoned with, Flex FX Productions will blow you away with a dynamic and inspirational return that will knock the wind out of your chest. Its magnitude was heightened in ’05 and ’06 which saw Flex FX productions campaigning and promoting for the featured artists. The two years of back-to-back performances and promotions has succeeded in a matured production, including appearances at the Zee Cine awards - the biggest bollywood event held in the Excel Arena starring all the top mainstream artists from the Hindi Film Industry; the BIMA awards, The biggest Bangladeshi event held in the UK, incorporating the finest artists from the Bangladeshi media industry; Zee carnival 2006’s biggest exhibition in the UK, and Tigers out East, a national tour branching off the Lord Mayors show… and that’s just to name a few!
Starring Britain’s most talented and vivacious dancers, actors and models, the Dhamaka project is an intense production of dance, fashion and physical theatre, portrayed in a variety of innovatory themes. Orientated around a central bollywood focus in a one-night novel extravaganza. Featuring pioneering choreographers and directors, this show has finally given them a break-through with the chance to express their visionary ideas into a breathtaking production for the entire nation.
Staged at the Royal Albert Hall, which, since its opening in 1871 has played host to a multitude of events and legendary figures and has been affectionately titled 'The Nation's Village Hall', the Dhamaka project proposes to take storm with a diverse array of performances, fusing together both East and West inspired themes. In addition, the project aims to showcase a contemporary and urban British Asian event, encompassing various aspects of dance, fashion and acting, exquisitely merged into an elaborate Bollywood musical production. The Dhamaka project is partly funded by The European Social Fund.
In his description of the event, Artistic Director of Flex Fx Productions, Naz Choudhury exclaimed, “This prestigious event will undoubtedly make an unwavering mark on the industry with a fresh and accomplished display of young talent, demonstrated in a unique and imaginative form. From the quality and professionalism that provides the infrastructure for this dream-come-true project, to the 70 young performing artists who account for its durable backbone, the show looks set to be sensational. Flex FX Productions has finally unlocked the doors to achieving this phenomenon, fueled by the drive running through the blood of every single one of its constituents. The national and international celebrity appearances will be the cherry on top of a hit musical, so miss this… miss out”
Auditions and workshops will officially commence from January 2007, featuring an intensive build-up until the event which is set to take place on Saturday the 14th April 2007. Despite being a largely Asian influenced event, the show will also encompass a wide variety of themes from different cultures and ethnic groups. The Annual Britz Dhamaka 2007 looks set to be one of the biggest and most prestigious events of the year, pioneering a previously untouched realm of the perofming arts and Bollywood industry.