ENTERTAINMENT

Sari Not Sorry Wins Dance Competition: Floored

Posted on June 10, 2020 | by Aabida Dhanji-Madhani  

The new streaming platform “Quibi” has launched a new high stakes dance competition series entitled “Floored.”

The show features entertainment personality Liza Koshy. The thrilling dance competition involves performing on a moving stage in an arena in front of celebrity judges and a live audience. Each episode features two competing dance teams who are challenged to perform their routine on a moving floor. The catch is… an unidentified obstacle can move across the stage at any time and the dancers have to keep dancing.

Natasha Nazerali’s dance group, “Sari Not Sorry” was featured on the show. The first time we spoke with Natasha was in 2016. “If there are any readers who may be wanting to take on a career in the arts, it’s absolutely achievable, and finding like-minded peers can really help. Sari Not Sorry was the first project I created on my own that didn’t fall under a larger entertainment group or company and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without other dancers who shared my vision and made it a joyful experience,” she told us.

Nazerali is a professional dancer and choreographer residing in Los Angeles. Nazerali was born and raised in Vancouver, BC Canada. At the age of 17, Nazerali moved to New York to pursue her passion of dance at a prestigious performing arts college: The American Musical and Dramatic Academy.

Sari Not Sorry showed the judges what they’re made of and won! Sari Not Sorry was the only all-female Indian dance troupe to be featured on the show.

FUSIA caught up with Natasha once again to learn more about the show and her team’s experience.

How did you get involved with the show, Floored?

The dance industry is a very close knit community and I heard talk of a lot of other dance crews applying to be on the show. The show was really eager to get as many dance styles and genres as possible, and I had a feeling an all-female Bollywood dance team would do great on such a unique show. Turns out my hunch was right and Sari Not Sorry was confirmed and booked for the show pretty soon after we applied. 

Tell me more about Sari Not Sorry.

Sari Not Sorry is a fierce, high energy, all-female Bollywood dance troupe. For the show, our crew was comprised of myself (Natasha Nazerali), Shayan Chalan, and Laylee Abedi. Our on stage chemistry is natural because all of us have been dancing together for years and I find each dancer brings something unique to the table. I chose the name  Sari Not Sorry because I love how it represents that we are “Unapologetic”. We are passionate and committed to our artistic craft and we had to forge our own distinct paths in order to be able to pursue our passion as a full time career– and for that we make no apologies. 

What was your experience like on the show?

We were really honored to be able to showcase our culture on a streaming platform that would be watched by so many around the globe. Of course once we got our first and only rehearsal on the moving stage there was panic! The stage hovers high above a large pit and moves at a very fast speed. We had to really think strategically on how we would execute our routine under the circumstances. With a lot of teamwork and some critical thinking we rose to the challenge and delivered a strong performance. I think the judges thought so too because we came out on top as the winning dance crew! 

Watch the clip here from Quibi’s Sari Not Sorry’s dance performance.  The group is full of some amazing dancers that won’t let anything get in the way of their dancing.