SALSA STARS

 

SHE is 15, and comes from a village with no electricity. He is 20, and hails from a lower middle-class family with bare access to daily resources. Together, they are the salsa dance duo Bad Salsa, and are winning global fans after impressing judges on the international reality show, America’s Got Talent. The Indian duo of Sonali Majumdar and Sumanth Maroju aspire to be international stars and win laurels and accolades for India with their salsa groove.

Their tryst with fame started when they won India’s Got Talent season four in 2012. Sonali also participated in Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions. “I come from a distant village near the Bangladesh border where there was no electricity. My father is a farmer who used to earn approximately Rs 80 per day and had a tough time raising the family. After India’s Got Talent, the village came into limelight and eventually electricity supply was made available. Now we own some land, and have built a house for our family,” Sonali told IANS, looking back at the challenges in her dance journey. Sumanth’s family broke many shackles to help him realise his dream.“In my lower middle-class family, dancing was never considered a profession. My family broke barriers and stereotypes to keep my dreams going.