May 16, 2017

Meet Ajanta Chakraborty of Bollywood Groove

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ajanta Chakraborty.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Ajanta. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
We started in 2008 in California. I was still working full time as a technology consultant. In 2010, we moved to Chicagoland and re-started Bollywood Groove (bG) in the same part-time fashion i.e. a few classes on the weekend.

2011 was the true beginning of bG when I quit my technology job and pursued bG full time. Thanks to our content, teaching style and a wonderful welcoming community, we were soon able to scale and now have 30+ classes/week.

Along with classes, we also added a host of services including event entertainment, private lessons, mobile apps and most recently started publishing children’s books.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When I first moved to Chicagoland, Bollywood dance & fitness was still relatively unknown or misunderstood. I had the dual challenge of not only selling a service but also educating about the service itself. We were often not taken seriously as a fitness option but the compliments we received from their happy, smiling, sweaty-selves spoke for itself.

Some people came into a fitness class assuming we would be teaching Belly dance and were up for a complete surprise once the class started. Thankfully, we converted most of them to repeat customers 🙂

Fitness trends go in and out and staying relevant and popular requires us to constantly redefine and improve ourselves.

Kids’ classes have had their own set of struggles. Our vision was always to offer something truly unique. We combined culture and dance education in a way that had never been done before. In the beginning, some parents didn’t see the value in this and questioned it but very happy to say that over time we have managed to expand our program to 200 students and the bG families are the ones who truly value multicultural education.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Bollywood Groove – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We are a Bollywood Dance, Fitness, Entertainment and Education Company.

What we do: We teach BollyGroove Cardio to adults; BollyGroove Kids classes starting at age 3; Private 1-1 dance lessons for couples or small groups; bG Interactive or troupe performance at events; bG Books for kids ages 3+.

What are we known for:

a. Fitness classes – providing an extremely joyful and effective experience irrespective of age, fitness level, dance background etc. It’s addictive and fun!

b. Kids classes – unique dance/culture curriculum that no other Indian dance company provides.

We are proud of how much we have accomplished in such a short span of time. We are proud that we have created services and products that makes the Indian culture accessible to people of all different backgrounds. We are also very proud of the bG community – a place for people to make friends and strong connections with like-minded people.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Go digital and more products!

We are planning to release many more new kids’ book titles.

We are also planning to re-launch our cardio mobile app in the next couple of months.

Starting April, we will hold bG Cardio live sessions via Facebook.

We are also planning to launch a kid’s dance app where kids ages 3 to 15 can learn Bollywood dance and about Indian culture remotely.

Pricing:

bG Cardio – $15-$20/class. More savings with punch cards and unlimited passes
bG Kids – $18/class + nominal session fee. Tuition includes bG books, craft supplies, practice videos, costumes, mini-recital or annual show and more.

Contact Info: