Bollywood dance is latest fitness craze in America
February 2019: bored by pilates, kick-boxing and exercising on bicycles, gym members in America are embracing a work out based on Bollywood music and moves. Bolly X, founded by Harvard and Berkeley graduates, is the new new thing in gyms. It has received wide media attention from ABC TV and People Magazine to CNBC and The Wall Street Journal.
BollyX is a Bollywood-inspired dance-fitness program that combines dynamic choreography with the hottest music from around the world. Its 50-minute cardio workout cycles between higher and lower-intensity dance sequences to get you moving, sweating, and smiling. At the very core of a BollyX workout is the inspiration it draws from the music and dance of Bollywood, the film industry of India. We embody the infectious energy, expression and movement of Bollywood and aim to expand the reach of fitness to more people worldwide.Our fitness curriculum has been created by world-class choreographers and certified fitness professionals to ensure a safe and effective total body dance workout for all.
About Bolly X:
In 2013, five rockstars teamed up to combine their passions for community, fitness and Bollywood dance…
Fresh off the semi-finals of America’s Got Talent, Shahil Patel was determined to bring Bollywood to the masses. On the campuses of UC Berkeley, Mayuri Bhandari was creating award-winning choreography and teaching dynamic Bollywood dance classes packed with 150+ people on a weekly basis. Meanwhile, Minal Mehta, marketing maven and Harvard MBA, was looking to build a badass brand that brought people together in a meaningful way.
In June 2013, Shahil, Mayuri, and Minal launched their first BollyX class in Cambridge, MA, where they crossed paths with Fen Tung. With over 15 years of industry experience and certifications ranging from Zumba to Les Mills, AFAA to NASM, and Kickboxing to Pilates, Fen gave BollyX the bridge it needed between Bollywood and fitness.
As classes began to grow, the team realized they were onto something special. Enter Brent Lagerman, the branding guru behind the billion-dollar fitness event company Tough Mudder. Under Brent’s guidance, BollyX developed a new logo, website and brand identity. Shortly thereafter, Brent became CTO of BollyX to build an online training portal that enabled instructors to easily access choreography, marketing materials and class management tools to support their classes.
Come January of 2014, BollyX filmed its very first promo video – you may recognize the studio from Beyonce’s Love on Top! Since then, BollyX has launched 500+ weekly Bollywood workout classes across 30+ states with a growing community of over 3,000 BollyX trainees and instructors. You can find us in major cities such as Boston, NYC, Chicago, Dallas, Seattle, San Francisco, and Vancouver, with more being added to the list every month. BollyX instructors come from a wide range of backgrounds spanning from ‘brand-new-to-fitness’ to experienced dancers and fitness instructors who teach Les Mills, Zumba, Yoga, Pilates, and TRX.
Photo credit: Bolly X site.
