Indian salsa wows AGT

Colors Infinity and Voot Select is the home for reality show – 'America's Got Talent'. Indians have left no pages unturned to make their presence on global platforms. One such talented group 'Bad Salsa' reached the finale of 'America's Got Talent' held during the pandemic.

After V Unbeatable won the last edition of 'America's Got Talent', the Indian salsa duo, Bad Salsa reached the finale of this year's competition. The duo are past winners of'India's Got Talent' (2012) and have also participated in 'Britain's Got Talent: The Champions Season 1'.

Sonali comes from a village near the Bangladesh border named Bagdah, Saluardari in West Bengal. The only child of a farmer couple, shares her journey, "Iam dancing since I was 3 years old. I used to see dance performances in my melas (fairs) and that became a passion for me. When I came under Bivash Sir he taught me everything that is seen in my performances."Her dance partner Sumanth is from Bhubaneswar, Odisha and comes from a middle-class family.

He shares, "My parents had to work very hard to fulfill the necessities of the family. I was like any other school going boy, but dance changed my life. I have been dancing since I was 7 years old. Initially, I learned dancing through videos and tapes that I used to bring home and tried to copy steps of the celebrities. The moment I met Bivash Sir I explored a life that I never thought really existed. I started living my dreams."

According to the talented duo, It's the vision and creation of their sir which motivated them. Picking up salsa as a dance form was his vision.

"We stay in the sir's Gurukul. We have everything planned and scheduled accordingly. As it is an open university it allows us the privilege to invest our focus and time on dancing and we have study hours which helps us in passing the academics," shared the duo.

"Our futures became more secure and now we are getting opportunities to represent our country which we feel is the greatest thing in one's life. We always wanted to perform on global stages representing India and getting the opportunity and converting it into a real chance is really an overwhelming experience for us.

Everyone was so supportive and encouragingwe never felt like outsiders. Everybody respected our art form and the way we performed.

The judges loved us, and the host of the show Terry Crews said he got starstruckedseeing us. So much good happened during the show despite the pandemic. Our videos went viral, we were watched worldwide and we represented our country very proudly,"concludes the duo.