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Have you ever wondered how it feels to be world famous? I would certainly not know how it feels, but I do know someone who can shed some light on that subject. Lourd Vijay is a name synonymous with dance on the international stage. He established Lourd Vijay’s Dance studio in 1998 and danced his way to world wide fame and glory.

Ably assisted by Richard Tholoor (Assistant Director) and with the combined professional experience of more than 20 years in the entertainment industry, they have traveled to over 30 countries to train, perform and teach.

Vijay summed up their range of services saying “LVDS’s performances are spellbinding, flawless and gorgeously unique – a result of our dedication and energy in this art.

We believe that to showcase our talent better, production and performance, with emphasis on the technical aspects of costume, make-up and lighting has to be top notch. To ensure the same, dedicated teams of professionally trained designers, make-up artists and light engineers work with us.”

“Our repertoire ranges from a riveting 10 minutes to a jaw-dropping hour. It includes:

• Latin – Salsa, Merengue, the Cha cha, Casino De Rueda, Cumbia and Bachata”
• Rhythm – Swing, Jive, Rock n Roll, Lindy Hop Ballroom – Tango, Waltz, Foxtrot
• Street dances – Hip-hop, Funk, Freestyle, Breakdancing, B-bop Acrobatics
• Contemporary dance with influences of classical dance – Bharatnatyam, Odissi, Kathak
• Traditional martial art forms – Kalarippayattu, Tangta & Capoeira
• East meets West (fusion) - A mix of 4 Indian Classical Dance forms- Mohini Attam, Bharatnatyam, Kathak and Odissy”

They are not only adept at Dance instruction, training, choreography, and performances in different segments, but also host international dance festivals. Over 1000 people visit their studios and events every month. LVDS’s is a completely professionally run organization, all instructors are internationally qualified. There is a process and structure to all services that they offer.

Vijay told us that the entire venture was just meant to be, he says “it just happened, I just knew I had to go national the day we made it a professional company.”

Never quite planning to be an Entrepreneur the passion for dance eventually led him into the world of the self employed. It was no easy task as his passion often dictated and preceded business decisions. He describes his initial mistake saying “Trying to hire instructors and offering them salaries, because I believe if you are passionate about something and want to do it full time them then nothing should stop you from making a decent living just like any other profession.”

He has faced challenges from skeptics, and he says it is because of “Quacks in the industry trying to teach dance forms that they are not qualified to teach.”
He used his savings to transform a hobby into a internationally renowned entity. He is also eternally grateful to friends who provided his first dance studio space. He says “From one studio we have grown to having 23 studios and the numbers are still growing by the month. We have also crossed the 1 lakh student mark”

Winning & judging the international championship and also hosting Asia’s Largest Salsa Congress are among Vijay’s most cherished achievements, for they signified his arrival not only as an artiste but also as an expert in his field.

We have listed a few of LVDS’s achievements that made them famous in the first place, for they are far too numerous to all be mentioned here

• First and the Largest authentic Salsa School in the country.
• Judge at the Asian Open Salsa Championship 2008 & 2009 (Lourd Vijay)
• Winners of the Australian Salsa Classic, 2007 (Richard & Sneha)
• Winners of the European Open Salsa masters, 2007 (Richard & Sneha)
• First Indians to qualify for the World Salsa Championships in Las Vegas, 2006 (Richard & Sneha)
• First Indians to qualify for the World Salsa Championships in Orlando, 2007 (Richard & Sneha)
• Choreographies and training for Bollywood movies: Bus Yun Hi, offbeat Cinema: Mango Soufflé and the Jackie Chan Starrer “the Myth”,
• Acting and choreographies for ad films: Hitachi Logicool ACs, Videocon, Apollo DKV Life Insurance and Fa Deodorants

Vijay gave up a regular job to pursue his dreams and has since never looked back. He envisions a national foot print across 6 cities by 2010. Personally however he is yet to reach his peak, he does not believe any award has touched him on a personal level as of now, he says “Nothing of any consequence as yet…will let you know when I receive a life altering award”

The maestro advises our readers saying “A large part of your info is data obtained from the market but at the end of the day it is your gut and passion. Passion is what drives entrepreneurs and like Pauolo Coelho says -if you want something real bad the entire universe transpires to get you there.”
Yourstory wishes Lourd Vijay more success and strength every day, and thanks him for sparing the time and effort to share his extraordinary tale of success with us.