How could I choose only five? There's an abundance of rhythmic, catchy, romantic and entertaining Bollywood dance acts out there.

I’ve limited myself, but still chosen the ones that I constantly come back to, for the haunting tune or the beautiful dance. Or both.

Here’s a selection, representing a variety of styles that can serve as a decent introduction to Bollywood. Enjoy!

My absolute top favorite. I love the song, the swirling choreography and the beautiful clothing. From the film Devdas.

A video wich is highly influenced by classical Indian music and dance. Make sure to watch after 03:04 where they’re dressed up and looking like they should. From the film Bhool Bhulaiyaa.

A catchy tune, colorful clothing, a lot of hand movements and facial expressions – what more can you ask for? From the film Agneepath.

A classic. Famous actress and dancer Rekha performs in the 1981 screen version of Umrao Jaan. If you like this one, watch some of the dance acts in the 2006 version as well (search for Umrao Jaan in the YouTube search field).

For the fifth and final video, I’ve chosen one that is easy to like. Actually, this was the video that I first saw in 2009 that, together with this one (ok, I couldn’t limit myself to five...) convinced me that Bollywood dancing would be something for me to try. From the film Bunty Aur Babli.

 

Today is the first dance class for this semester, and I can’t find the words to describe how much I’ve been looking forward to it. Dancing is what you should be doing on a Friday night, right?

 

 

In need of more Bollywood? I have a YouTube playlist where I collect my Bollywood favourites, and of course a Spotify playlist as well.