Kabita Nepali stands tall on the biggest stage of them all

 

Of the 3,000 partici­pants in Nepal’s first International fran­chise dance reality show Boogie Woogie, which premiered on March 29 on AP1 HD channel, only 18 could make it to the on-air rounds. Among them, 18-year-old Kabita Nepali of Kathmandu emerged the winner in the live grand finale on August 4.

The Boogie Woogie pro­duction team had to work mighty hard to make this first-of-its-kind show in Nepal a success.

“Dance reality shows are comparatively more chal­lenging than other reality shows,” says Aleen Shres­tha, the director of Boogie Woogie. “We have to take care of every small aspect, from matching make-up with dress to stage props.” Shrestha describes his expe­rience of producing the first Boogie Woogie show as bit of a ‘mixed bag’.

“No one had tried this in Nepal before. So, we made mistakes but at the same time we also learned so much in the process,” says Suresh Paudel, proj­ect head for Boogie Woogie. “It was also a process that gave us Kabita Nepali, the deserved winner.”

On the day of the grand finale itself, Nepali, along with two other finalists, stood on the stage with great anticipation, and dread, their hearts thump­ing against their chests. With only moments left for the final announcement she started preparing herself for the worst. “I kept tell­ing myself whatever hap­pens will happen for the good,” says Nepali. “I wasn’t expecting to win. In fact, I was willing to settle for the third runners-up prize.”

Growing up, Nepali learnt early to move her body to the rhythm of music. Her parents would play songs on television for her to dance. So passionate was she that once, as a toddler, she broke the television screen at home, trying to get inside the screen to dance. Her parents, who were not home at the time, found her dancing with half of her body inside the television when they got home.

Even though she was fond of dancing, the art form was only a medium for her to express her inner feelings till she came across the Boogie Woogie audition announcement. She was instantly hooked but her parents were not convinced.

“Our society still frowns upon a woman choosing dancing as her career,” says Nepali. “So, at first my fam­ily did not approve of my decision to participate and I had to convince them to let me pursue my dream.”

The self-taught Nepali feels her versatility helped her progress in the competition and says the eight-month-journey of Boogie Woogie was a learn­ing curve she will forever remember. “Day or night, my focus was only on danc­ing. I even used to dream about dancing,” she says. “In the competition itself, it was all about hard work. I had many injuries but the Boogie Woogie team took care of them. The good part is that I got to learn many dance forms that I had seen only on television.”

As the grand finale night progressed and nervousness filled the air, Nepali felt her rationale for competing in Boogie Woogie had already been justified. “For me it wasn’t about winning. I came here to learn,” she says. Nepali spent the whole finale evening preparing for the worst and when she heard her name announced as the winner, she was shocked. “My mind went blank,” says Nepali. “I didn’t know how to react.” Nepali had won the competition by getting 30 percent more votes compared to the first runners-up in SMS voting.

Nepali bagged Rs 2.5 mil­lion in cash with which she wants to build a home for her family. And now that she has won the competition, she also wants to get back to studying and completing her high-school, from which she had to drop out because of the show. “I will first complete my studies and will then explore my career in the film industry,” says Nepali. “Until then, I will be doing programs and music videos for pocket money,” she smiles.