If poverty is a disease, the remedy lies in empowering the underprivileged through education and skills, which will eventually make them independent,” says artist and social entrepreneur Vinay Sharma, 36, whose initiative Dance Out of Poverty (DOOP) – providing free dance lessons – has positively impacted the lives of over 3,500 underprivileged children across Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. The initiative is part of his NGO, Sinhayana Foundation, which Sharma started in 2017 in Nawada, west Delhi, and later moved to its current location, Dwarka Mor.
Initially, DOOP had two centres – one in Delhi and Mumbai each. As the COVID-19 pandemic raged, he downsized the initiative, keeping only the Delhi centre afloat.
In a conversation with TMS, Sharma outlined the reforms he plans to implement from March. Sharma, who has worked in Bollywood and collaborated with filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi, and has invested around Rs 50 lakh from his savings and loans, says “great talent shouldn’t be left behind due to financial constraints”.
Why did he focus only on dance? Sharma, who once was a hip-hop dancer, says: “It helped me when I was on the verge of depression and anxious. So, I know it heals.” He, however, has plans to make his venture sustainable and will start charging for his classes soon. “We also plan to ticket the performances done by our students. To substantiate the positive impact of dance on children’s mental well-being to corporate leaders and educational institutions – our prospective donors – we’ve enlisted the expertise of a psychologist capable of quantifying these effects,” he says. Currently, DOOP has 100 kids on board, and Sharma aims to grow that to 10,000 students by year-end. He is confident about revitalising his project, which started, back in the day, as just a short workshop.
Throughout this journey, Sharma has found unwavering support from his wife, actor Kamna S Ranawat, known for films like John Jani Janardhan and Selfie Raja. She conducts theatre workshops, giving the kids “a new kind of expression”, he says.
On a break
Sharma used to run a dance studio in Delhi’s Pitampura until he took a break from dancing in 2011 to try directing. He shifted to Mumbai, where he worked as an assistant director for the 2014 film Yaariyaan at T-Series. After five years in Mumbai, he returned to Delhi and decided to organise a DOOP dance workshop. Approximately 200 underprivileged children participated; the late veteran Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan guided the final stage.
Sharma’s plan was simple: give a platform to the children, get the attention of NGOs capable of nurturing their aspirations, and then return to Mumbai. However, when the workshop concluded, and the potential sponsors and collaborators turned their backs, he embraced the children’s dreams as his own. Under his NGO, Sharma orchestrates three programmes—organising daily dance lessons in Freestyle, Bollywood, Hip-Hop and Ballet; ‘Right To Dance’ to empower children in slums and jhuggi clusters; and ‘Slum 2 Stage’ to provide platforms for trained dancers.
Several Bollywood stars such as Amitabh Bachchan, Manoj Bajpayee, Varun Dhawan, and Tiger Shroff have performed with DOOP students during film promotions and applauded Sharma’s initiative. During his seven-year-long journey, Sharma has impacted many lives. And Vinita Mandal’s is one of them.
Creating impact
Mandal, 17, joined DOOP in 2018. Her father worked as a labourer, and her mother was a domestic worker. Despite her humble beginnings, Mandal mastered hip-hop and showcased her talent alongside prominent personalities such as Hrithik Roshan and Deep Money in various stage performances. In 2022, she was adjudged the second runner-up in India’s Got Talent, season 9. “DOOP is more than dance; it refines our overall personality,” she says. Mandal was also part of the group that recently performed at former president Ram Nath Kovind’s residence on the 75th Republic Day. The performance was led by Kaushal Pal. For the 25-year-old, who has been associated with DOOP since 2017, dance rescued him from the clutches of drugs.
“My initial recollection of Pal is of a lethargic and detached individual. There were times when I reprimanded him. Given that it was my first encounter with someone deeply into substance abuse, I failed to recognise the signs,” recalls Sharma. After several months, Pal opened up about his addiction. “DOOP and dance healed me. I overcame my dependence on drugs, and today, I work as a dance teacher at Vandana International School,” says Pal, who is proficient in ballet, freestyle, Bollywood, and hip-hop. When he can, he gets DOOP collaborations. “I see reflections of my past self in these children. If it weren’t for Sharma sir’s guidance, I might have succumbed to the world of drugs and crime,” he adds.