Ever since he was a teenager Charlie knew he had ‘moves like Jagger’. His burning passion turned into an obsession towards learning and evolving as a dancer. His journey, however, was certainly not smooth. He recalls, “Honestly, my parents were not on board initially. My love for dance was immense so I had no other choice but to follow my dream,” says the ardent dancer. He hipped and hopped his way around several other ditches until he finally found his sweet spot.
Charlie Frost Charlie alias Charlie Cherian, a dance prodigy found love for dance at an early age. Now he teaches young aspiring dancers while representing The Kundu House Project in Delhi.
Street dance has spread like forest fire thanks to Prosenjit Guy Kundu who brought this dance form to us. The Kundu House Project, named after the man himself, is India’s first House and Hip-Hop Dance Crew which exclusively trains and mentors young street dancers. “It was Prosenjit Kundu’s decision to form this crew in Bombay. Later, I decided to expand the crew and form a new chapter in Delhi,” says Charlie. “It opens up a world of opportunities and exposure not only to perform and work as a dancer, but also to learn from different internationally renowned artists,” he adds.
Charlie has never failed at entertaining his audience. When asked if he steps out of his comfort zone to keep them entertained, he confidently replied, “I don’t do funny stuff to entertain people. I suppose watching me dance is quite entertaining in itself.” Charlie has won various dance competitions both at the state and national levels and has also busted a move with dance geniuses such as Toyin Sogunro, and Sylvya Lo.
On his first class as part of The Kundu House Project, Charlie says, “I remember it being a class full of enthusiastic dancers. That was my first step towards the dream of building a love for dance in Delhi. And from then on, there was no looking back.
Along with his zeal to dance, he managed his academics and is now teaching dance full time. “Always a learner never a master is my mantra. Some of us are working, while the others are students. We also have members who handle family businesses as their day jobs. It’s the love for the crew and dance that helps us make time to teach and learn this art,” says the full-time dancer.
In a country where tradition plays a vital role, anything foreign is originally resisted. With changing times, tradition and westernisation have almost come to terms. “The dance that I teach comes from the west, but because we are so fond of the western culture there is a new found interest towards street dance,” admits Charlie.
Confident of earning his daily bread through dancing, Charlie says, “Street dancing can be a decent career if given proper training and knowledge. There is a rising need for such dancers in the industry as well as at the local level.”
Having said that, like any other profession, dancers are expected to dress, talk and walk a particular way. To be a dancer one must look like a dancer. Baggy pants and oversized shirts along with sneakers automatically makes you a street dancer, or so they say. “I do get asked by random people if I am a dancer or an artist because of my curly hairdo,” he admits. Charlie aspires to pop and lock his way performing, teaching, and spreading the love around the globe.
Hip hop In 2014
he taught the first batch of students as part of The Kundu House Project
Learners from Bombay, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Delhi and Paris are working at spreading The Kundu House Project
This street dancers dons a curly hairdo and the trademark baggy pants along with oversized shirts and sneakers makes you a street dancer
Prosenjit Guy Kundu brought the street dance genre to India and had initiated The Kundu House Project in Bombay
Charles one of the students of Prosenjit brought the dance form to Delhi
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