Vanya Bahl | Dancer and Choreographer | She has seen a slow and steady rise in the number of followers on both Instagram and YouTube for her easy-to-follow choreography. She predominantly follows Bollywood style of dancing and showcases strong hip-hop moves in her videos as well. The choreographer talks about her journey from Chhatarpur to Mumbai
Vanya Bahl strikes a pose while visiting family in Chhatarpur. Pic/Nishad Alam
On most work days, Vanya Bahl wraps up the chores in her one-bedroom apartment in Andheri and rushes to Bandstand to catch the golden hour. The 24-year-old usually calls in a favour from a friend to for a car ride; a Mumbai local would not be gentle to her equipment and costumes.
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A tenacious hustler—a true Gen Z trait—she shoots dance videos at often the exact same spot. “It’s ironic that I go to bandstand as often as I do now,” she says, “it was one of my first stops when I moved to Mumbai a year back. I wanted to see Mannat and Galaxy Apartments, and now I film my routines for Instagram and YouTube right in front of the Khans’s homes. It really is the city of dreams.” Bahl moved from Chhatarpur, in Delhi, to Mumbai about a year ago and is manifesting her dream of waltzing into Bollywood as a choreographer.
The soft-spoken danseuse first tapped to the beat as a mere four-year-old in the Shamak Davar’s Institute of Performing Arts in Delhi. At 16, the institute offered her a position in the Special Potential batch—a highly coveted honour in the OG choreographer’s institute.
With a family in business, soon Bahl took interest in that side of things pertaining to her passion and moved United Kingdom to pursue marketing. The first big hurdle that caught her off guard was when she was not allowed to join the university’s dance programme because she was “not from the UK”. “It was code word for ‘not white’,” she says.
Undaunted, she swiftly moved to a more inclusive university within weeks. “Four years of uni without dance just wasn’t an option,” she shrugs.
In 2020, Bahl got out of UK just in time and reached home right before the COVID 19-enforced lockdown. She finished the last few months of college online. The pivoting point was a three-day visit to the city of dreams to meet a friend. “I ended up staying for three weeks,” she says. Bahl always knew she’d eventually have to live in the financial capital to pursue a career in dance, and the three weeks only hastened the resolve. In July 2022, she placed all her bets on herself and moved.
“I knew that I needed to make the connections that would spur me on in the right direction,” says the dancer, whose strengths are Bollywood and Hip Hop dancing. “But it was my father who really egged me on to come here, and my mother—whom I call my momager—helped me figure out the details.”
It was a good move for more than just her career. “Here, I have the freedom of agency over my life,” she says, speaking for single girls who throng to the city from all over the country. “In a medical emergency, I can go to a chemist at 2 am. As much as I love Delhi, you cannot enjoy this freedom there as a woman… only in Mumbai.”
The city she says has also fed her artistic soul: “People I meet at shoots, workshops or any other place understand me; I don’t have to explain myself. And not only that, these conversations leave me inspired—that I have to get out there and do something like they have.” Her favourite spot is Marine Drive, well aware—and unapologetic—that it’s a “very Delhi” answer. “I can sit there for three days,” she says.
When we steer towards favourite foods, she giggles because she knows she’s going to name a cliché. “Vada Pao is my favourite, though I try not to have it too often.” The healthier go-to is bhel. The place that brings together her love for the beach and food is The Tanjore Tiffin Room facing Versova beach. “In the alley behind the restaurant is a patch of road that’s part beach,” she elaborates, “The road dissolves into sand, and you can step into the beach or stay at the shore—whatever your mood is.” The only aspect of the city that she wishes to gain distance from is the traffic: “It’s really is quite an experience to be stuck in the western suburbs.”
While she’s in tinseltown, Bahl is trying her hand at acting as well—on television and in web series. “Being a trained modern dancer is always an added advantage, but it’s still very competitive,” she says, shifting gears into marketing lingo. “I am giving auditions and meeting casting directors, and have my mom as guide and support, but I am also setting a goal for myself. If this doesn’t pan out in an year or two, I’ll set up my own studio. First, in Delhi because I have dad’s expertise, but with sights on Mumbai too. It’s very competitive here and I might need more time to figure out what I can do differently.”
As we swing in and out of past, present and future, we ask the dancing queen how she feels about her move, one year on. “Honestly? It’s the best decision of my life.”
Mumbai meri jaan?
Love about Mumbai The beaches
Hate about Mumbai Traffic
Expectations from Mumbai: I hope the city allows me to become and full time Choreographer and own my own studio
Did Mumbai live up to it? Yes, it more than lived up to what I had hoped for.
Will it remain forever home? Yes, I will shuffle from Mumbai and Delhi, but this will be my home now.
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