Special interview - The man behind the "Dream"

Innovative vocalist worldwide / pop music, producer and salsa dancer in the world, Jiju has awakened his audience with his many-sided and energetic style since his youth. Possessing a remarkable ability to promote the spirit, Giju is positioned as one of the most attractive and fascinating performers that hit the Indian and world music scene. His first album, released in June 2007 by Raga-to-Rock Records, includes six singles, including the title Salsa track, Rang Rangeeli.

Gidzhu is a vocalist who grew up from India and grew up in California, USA, where his creative talents are expressed by music and engineer of Intel Corporation. Having gained a solid foundation through proper preparation, Gige pursued and shared his passion for music and dance from childhood.

He studied Indian classical music (Carnatic), and also trained in the Indian classical dance form "Bharatanatyam". He participated in professional musical endeavors in both India and the United States.

Thanks to his many-sided and energetic style, Giju used to get to the audience from his youth. His dedication to his craft and remarkable strength to move his listeners, positioned Gidzhu as one of the most persuasive and fascinating performers who hit the Indian music scene.

A surprisingly gifted artist, Gijou is also a perfect salsa dancer and choreographer. He is the original member of the San Francisco Bay region. Dance Company Salsamania, the world famous professional dance troupe salsa, known for its hypnotic performances, marked by high levels of speed and technical difficulties. While with Salsamania, Giju has performed and competed in all of the USA, Europe and Mexico. He left Salsamania in December 2007 to focus on the launch of his album, a music video and a new dance company Salsa: The Beyond Dreamz Entertainment “Dreamz Team”.

Interview

MG: Hi, Giju, I congratulate you on the fantastic achievement of your first album, music video and the newly created dance company Dreamz Team.

For those who are not familiar with your experience, can you briefly describe what Beyond Dreamz Entertainment is, why did you set up an organization and your main goal?

Giju: Beyond Dreamz Entertainment was founded with the mission of creating innovative music and dance productions combining Indian and Latin music / dance styles. I want to use this platform to promote this new genre of music / dance style around the world. When I was going to make my album, I faced a lot of difficulties in the music industry and dealt with its standards and rules. Maybe I didn’t meet the right people then, but if I agreed with their program ... I wouldn’t have been able to create the type of music I believe in. It was one compilation of the reasons behind the creation of Beyond Dreamz Entertainment for use it as a platform to encourage new and future artists to create new high-quality music.

MG: It was great to see that you were represented in numerous interviews and as a guest performer in recent months, especially when you toured all over India. Why is it important to get back your unique brand of salsa and vocal salsa dance?

Giju: India has my roots; where I cultivated my passion for music and dance. Without a foundation that I earned while growing there, I could not pursue my artistic goals. Now, it's my turn to return something. To contribute by adding the variety and richness of the Indian music scene. The fact that the Indian audience has always been very sensitive to global music only makes me more optimistic in my endeavors.

MG: You are considered the “pioneer”, the first to successfully overcome Latin and Hindi cultures with your unique style of music and dance production. How did this concept come about?

Giju: While I moved to California, about 8 years ago, my image of Latin music was more or less limited to the guitar and the bongo Flamenco! When I met mambo, cha-cha-cha and other popular music / dance styles, my understanding of Latin music in all its nuances and shades began to develop. I also practiced salsa dancing at a professional level, so it greatly contributed to my ability to interpret music from a dancer's point of view. So, when I started playing with the idea of ​​creating an album, the first idea that stuck in me was a style that would combine the structure of Indian music with the taste of mambo. Looking back, I think it was natural. Popular Indian music has great flexibility in its structure, but for “individualizing” salsa, without losing the taste and feeling of salsa. less than the task of Hercules!

MG: Your artistic career was a lifelong culmination of intentional and focused preparation, dedication and hard work. Can you share with us the evolution of this process?

Gijou: It was an interesting journey, to say the least. My connection with music and dancing was started when I was about 8 years old, and it all started because of my mom! She put me to workout, despite my childhood, but strong efforts to rebel, and I am so grateful for that. I was trained to be considered one of the oldest music systems in the world - “Carnatic music” (one of the two main styles of classical music in India) and Bharathanatyam (a popular classical dance from South India) for 7 years. Nevertheless, I always attracted more popular or popular styles of music and dance, so it was natural that I initially stopped performing classical music and dance pieces and began to deal with more modern elements. Bollywood was a major source of inspiration for me, as well as influences from the west, including artists such as Michael Jackson and George Michael.

After I came to the USA to get a master's degree, at USF Tampa, FL, I took part in shows, concerts and projects both within the university and beyond. In terms of music and dance styles, these events included many international elements. Besides the fact that I was a great experience, it was an intensive period of study for me. After graduation, I moved to California, and you all know the whole story.

MG: In addition to your creative passion, you are also a fully qualified engineering manager in a world-class organization. Tell us about some of the problems that you face when balancing all these responsibilities?

Giju: Yes, I'm a senior reliability engineer for Intel. This is my eighth year with them. Intel is a great company to work with, and I am very grateful for participating in a group where I work on advanced technologies, where technical skills are constantly changing. My manager and colleagues are aware of my work outside of work, which they fully support. This is generous help.

To say that it is difficult to manage between my work, my music and video projects, my production company Dreamz team , classes, privates, workshops and, obviously, my personal life would be a huge understatement. I can either look at it all, complain that you don’t have enough time, or figure out the logistics for all this to happen. I decided to do the last. All you need is belief and faith; your mind and body will react with loads of positive energy for you.

If I ever feel overwhelmed, I think about my parents, especially my mom, and how she managed to raise me and my brothers, took care of the whole family, held a lot of social events, private tuition and much more. , full-time job. I am sure there are millions of working moms. Compared to what I do, it's just a child's play.

MG: During the first stage of your world tour in 2008, which took place in February and March, the Beyond Dreamz Entertainment dance team “Dreamz Team” stayed here in the Bay Area to learn the new choreography that you recently completed. Tell us about this process and your plans for the team.

Giju: Both Kristen and I were supposed to go to India for my tour right after we finished the dance audition. In our absence, we still wanted the team to begin work on the choreography that we prepared to familiarize them with our style. Eric and Tatiana, our team, initiated the practice and training in our absence. It is great to have these two outstanding dancers and good friends who understand our style and share the same work culture as we do. They went up to the occasion and took great care of the team.

Upon my return in early March, I completely reorganized the choreography with the help of Kristen. We also included some ideas from our dancers. Although this is just a small step towards my broader vision of full production, I am very pleased with what we have now. This is what we can rely on.

Dancers like the atmosphere of the material and the dynamics of choreography. This is very different from what most of them are used to. We are currently preparing to speak at the 2008 LA Salsa Congress. Immediately after that, I want to start working with them in choreography for my next video production, which will happen in August. The team will also perform at the upcoming Indian Salsa Congress in August.

MG: Last month we had the opportunity to get some perspective in the 2008 Dreamz Team, as each of them shared something with his personal story and dancing. It is clear that this is a group of smart, talented and very creative people who enjoy life! What can you tell us about the team as a whole, which may not be reflected in their profiles?

Giju: Absolutely, I feel so blessed that I have all these wonderful talented people on the team. Each of them carries an excellent personality, which adds more overall taste and volume to the team. There is also a great partnership and chemistry between all the dancers, which makes rehearsals very productive, and the performances more enjoyable. As the first dancer team for Beyond Dreamz Entertainment, they provide a solid foundation for a very successful future for the company. Kristen and I couldn't be happier with this group.

MG: The success of the Bay Area salsa depends on the collaborative and competitive spirit among all participants, including dancers, DJs, bands, promoters and supportive suppliers. Now, when you are on the production side of a business and are immersed in a purely competitive arena, how do you see yourself, and Beyond Dreamz Entertainment promotes positive growth of salsa — first locally and then globally?

Giju: Salsa has become a universal phenomenon that bridges cultural and racial gaps, and I would like to add my contribution to this through my music and video projects, as well as the productions of Beyond Dreamz Entertainment. I want to position Beyond Dreamz as a platform on which you can do a lot of world-class collaborative work, combining the talents you talked about. Most of my projects that need to be impacted internationally will have a prominent representation of the salsa gulf community. For example, take the Beyond Dreamz team, I just launched the team, and they are ready to participate in an international video project in August. In the future there will be more projects that will be similar, but more ambitious. I want to fully engage and demonstrate the tremendous talent that we have here at home, as well as working on expanding Latin music / dance and opening it to other rich and diverse styles, namely Indian and Arabic.

I am very pleased with these opportunities.

Thank you for spending time with us, Giju. We look forward to your progress and meet with you again to learn more about your exciting new video projects and travels around the world!