Bollywood
Bollyfolk
Film-dance joy with folk flavour — thumkas, mudras, and a room that forgets to be shy.
Open level · advanced masterclass possibleSwapnil Dagliya · Indian folk dancer · generous host
Everything
is
Choreography
What did you come for?
SCENE 01 / 07
Weekly · Ghent
Learn with me, weekly
Come train at Shoonya Dance Centre — most weeks, most forms.
Select sceneThe Body — who Swapnil is
Act I · The Body
Pune raised me.Folk first — rhythm as a family language.
Ghent gave me a floor.And enough curious feet to fill it.
Now I make rooms move.Dancer, teacher, choreographer — same body.
Co-founder & artistic director of Shoonya Dance Centre — the floor Ghent gave me.
Programme notes · how I got here
Two decades,
four cities.
Pune gave me my first counts. New York and Florence sharpened them — Broadway Dance Center, then Opus Ballet on a scholarship. Back home I ran SPACE, my own studio, for ten years, and directed Avayava for six editions. Ghent’s been home since 2015 — folk first these days, and still wearing every hat that fits.
Ten-form Indian folk diploma
Kathak · in training since 2020
Certified yoga teacher
- Shiamak Davar’s Institute, Punefirst training, twice medalled
- Broadway Dance Center, NYC & Opus Ballet, Florenceon scholarship
- SPACE, Punemy studio; started with seven students, ran a decade
- Avayava, Punefounder & artistic director, six international editions
- International Dance Retreatco-founder · Auroville & Udaipur
- University of Pune & FLAME Universitytaught contemporary dance
- Shoonya Dance Centre, Ghentco-founder & artistic director
- ABC — a bollywood companyfounder & artistic director
- Gent India Dans Festivalartistic director
- The Four Lovesborn in Pune 2011, reborn with ABC in Ghent
Five, six, seven, eight — again! Beautiful — one more time.
Act II · The Practice · every week
Come train
with me.
I co-founded Shoonya Dance Centre and lead its artistic programme. Most weeks you will find me in the studio saying “again” — with love, and with counts.
Frequently saying “yes, no, maybe?!”
Tuesday
3 callsOpen level — no experience needed. Start here.
First time? Nobody is watching you — they are all busy counting.
Street shoes off, stand wherever you like. By the second chorus you will have drifted forward anyway. leave humming 5-6-7-8
Act III · The Invitation · for schools, festivals, teams & anyone with a floor
Invite me to teach.
Bollywood
Semi-
classical
Kathak vocabulary: footwork, hands, rhythm and chakkars, pulled along by irresistible music.
Best with some Indian dance experienceBhangra
Punjab folk energy — shoulders, stamina, bounce, and a very direct route to happiness.
Open level · kids 9+ possibleGarba +
folk dances
Garba, Ghoomar, Kalbeliya, Lavani, Khoriya, Dalkhai, Ghantu — with lecture-demos when the room wants the story too.
Culture, rhythm, community, contextIndian
contemporary
Floorwork and flow meeting Indian rhythms, gesture, Kathak patterns and phrase work.
For trained dancersYoga +
flow
Hatha, vinyasa, breath and pranayama — with enough kindness for every nervous system in the room.
Open level
A public square, not a studio. Same job either way.
Twelve cities, six countries, since 2024. Amsterdam · Antwerp · Berlin · Brussels · Eindhoven · Frankfurt · Ghent · Lille · Montpellier · Paris · Prague · Rome
Act IV · The Stage · press play
The still version
is lying.
Give me a stage, a square or a sangeet — I’ll bring the performance, or build the piece from scratch. This is four minutes of repertoire in under a minute.
REEL 01 / 04
Bollywood folkRajvaadi OdhniABC — a bollywood company
Interlude · dates & places
Next places to
accidentally find me.
Now boarding · 2026–27
BRUSSELSGarba MiniseriesFri 11, 18 & 25 Sep · 19:30–21:30 · with For the Love of BollywoodRegister ↗GHENTOpen Door DayFree tasters with me: Yoga 11:00 · Indian Dance Technique 12:00 · Bollyfolk 15:00Details ↗TOULOUSEBollywood Vibes FestivalTeaching Lavani (Sat) & Garba (Sun) · performing in the Friday showDetails ↗GHENTSangamA Bollywood Company premiere · €20ABC ↗GHENTIndian Dance Winter Intensive 2027Save the date — Bhangra & Jhoomar, Semi-Classical, Group Choreography, Garba & Dandiya Raas, KhoriyaAsk me ↓
SANGAM · an Indian dance production · ABC a bollywood company
A village that has never seen water.
Not a river, not rain. Never. Then a child arrives who belongs to no one, and the village has to choose: keep him, or give him away.
twelve dancers — none of them grew up with this, all of them chose it
SANGAM
We were a village of women.We wore the drought like a second skin,learned to pray through dance,learned to make a song out of nothing.
You came to us in the hour before light,a small bundle of heat.Before we could name you,we had to let you go.
Your mother wept into a fieldthat had never tasted rain.Her tears became a river,and the river carried you.
Two lights took you in.One warmed you. One watched.Between them you learnedthat love can shelterwithout holding on.
You walked back barefoot,and we opened every door.One heart stayed closed,clenched like a fist,and the whole sky held its breath.
So we danced together for the Queen.We stamped until the earth answered,we sang, we lit the old fires,we poured out every rhythm we had,until the fist uncurled.
Sangam, where souls meet.She gave you hers,and you became one.When she was gone,you carried her.Then the rain came at last,and the whole village danced.
Interval · the snack bar
Sometimes I cook for the whole room.
Cookwithswapke isn’t a business — it’s how I end a rehearsal, and how I look after the people who show up to my events. Vegetarian, generous, and proof that a room moves better once the belly is full.
pick a plate
Curtain call · no vague “contact us” box
What brings
you here?
One moment.
Your message is written.
Here it is, exactly as it will reach me.
Paste it into the message field over there — that’s everything I need.