Salsa, a sensuous form of dance that often flirts with the thin line between love and passionate desire, doesn’t go hand-in-hand with hardships, poverty, hustling for daily bread and such aspects of life. However, like lotus flower that blooms in the mud, this is a story of a poor boy who was brewed the hard way by life becoming a face of the most alluring form of dance, Salsa, in India.
Meet John Anthony, A Bangalore-based brainchild of the International Dance Congress or the IIDC who has worked his way up all the way from the very bottom and now he’s the host to the biggest Salsa festival in the country!
The 36-year-old started his career as a courier delivery boy when he was 15 and all he made in a month was Rs. 800. He says:
My work hours were from 8 am to 5 pm. Then I’d head to an evening college (that charged an annual fee of Rs 500) to study commerce from 5:30 – 9:30 pm, and finally reach home by 12 am. Every penny counted. At the time, a good meal was a reason to celebrate in my family, and that’s what I was working towards.
He had studied under a street-lamp, earned every bit of his education and had worked hard at the same time to provide for his sister’s 2-year-old after her husband passed away.
Salsa happened to his life when he chanced upon a Jive class at Alliance Francaise. With whatever little money he could arrange, John decided to enroll for the class!
Dancing was very new to India, but I enjoyed what I was doing. At an annual day in my workplace, I was asked to put together a small team and perform what little I knew. I jumbled my limited knowledge of Cha-cha, Jive, Salsa and Meringue, and we delivered a performance that received a standing ovation and many inquiries about dance classes.
After years of slogging it out in the field, John set up IIDC in 2012 and overcoming a few initial glitches, IIDC is hosting Asia’s largest competitive championship with 14 categories to participate in.
Take a look the jewels Anthony’s IIDC has produced over the years:
That’s a real rags to riches story!
News Source: Huffington PostÂ