Bharatanatyam took the center stage at a Las Vegas free-style dancing competition as Indian dancer Harini Nilakantan performed a fusion-style dance.
Harini, who has been practicing the age-old Indian dance form for over 23 years now, effortlessly blended the elements of Bharatanatyam into black dance styles for the competitions.
In multiple comments on her viral dance video, Harini said Indian Fusion was her style moniker when she competed at the Red Bull Your Style West Qualifier, with “ELEMENTS of Bharatanatyam.”
In a separate comment, she reiterated that she competed with Indian Fusion as her style and “did exactly that for a dance battle to popular music”.
The video of her performance has gone viral on social media, with the original post garnering over 1.4 million views.
Netizens went Gaga over her jaw-dropping fusion free-style performance and said that it was “absolutely unreal” and a “delight to watch”. The comment section was also flooded with fire and heart emojis.
“She absolutely destroyed 🔥👏” a user said. “Queen is dancing!!!!!!!!” said another user.
“Can we just take a second to clock how talented she actually is? The footwork alone is insane. Blending one of India’s oldest dance styles with hip hop and even a bit of twerking like that isn’t easy, and she made it look effortless,” a user added.
A user said: “Whoaaa..sick!! Never ever seen such a combination! Creativity🔥”
“Wowww….amazing skills, only a classical dancer can mix both of them so beautifully,” another user said while also urging other Indians to show her some love.
Harini shut trolls down
However, despite a perfect fusion performance, one appropriate for a dance battle, Harini was put down by some users, saying “that is not Bharatanatyam”.
A user even said, “I don’t like it.. Kathak or any traditional Indian dance is sacred, not for pleasing Red Bull audience.” “Good dancing overall, but please don’t disrespect Bharatnatyam by calling your dancing as Bharatnatyam or even inspired by it!” said another user.
But, Harini shut down the trolls, saying: “Of course it isn’t! I would know, as someone who has been practicing the form for 23 years.”
“I never claimed this round to be a Bharatanatyam round; neither do the headlines of these posts. YOU think we did that!” she continued. “You guys see the last 10 seconds of the entire round and base your entire hate on YOUR issues with twerking and other black dance styles that are hypersexualised.”
Irked by the unnecessary hate in the comment section, Harini suggested that the haters enter a qualifier — “Go put yourselves out there and dance the way you want to. Be my guest. I’d be the happiest if more folks showcased their skills.”
Who is Harini Nilakantan?
Harini Nilakantan is a Chicago-based professional dancer, movement artist, and choreographer from Chennai, according to her website. She has over 20 years of training and experience in various dance forms, most notably in Bharatanatyam, Waacking, Hiphop, and is currently studying Chicago Footwork.
Harini is the Program Head of Dance at the Kalapriya Center for the Indian Performing Arts.
She is a two-time headliner for World Of Dance, Chicago, and is the current Champion of the RedBull Dance Your Style Chicago City Qualifier 2025.
