Naz Choudhury

Naz Choudhury is a British Bollywood dance specialist,^[1] show producer and artistic director^[2] from East London.^[3]

Choudhury recently made history as a Nobel Peace Prize Concert performer.^[4] He led his team of Bolly Flex dancers alongside a great mainstream cast including Queen Latifah, Steven Tyler, and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan,^[5] who performed ^[6] for the joint award winners Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi.^[7] This event was expected to be broadcast across 120 countries and was predicted to be seen by over a billion people.

Choudhury’s most popular achievement is choreographing and performing in the first Bollywod act on the BBC's hugely popular dance show Strictly Come Dancing,^[8] which was seen live by over 10 million people and brought Bollywood to the show for the first time.

His most notable achievements came after his appearance on Dragons' Den in 2010, at the age of 26. He created super hit productions such as Bollywood Showstoppers and the Dhamaka Concerts.

In 2011 he took his dance company Bolly Flex^[9] to Sky 1's Got To Dance, receiving standing ovations^[10] and gold stars ^[11] from all the critics. He then took Bolly Flex ^[12] on tour ^[13] across the UK ^[14] and Europe.^[15] They were the first Bollywood dance company to play the Royal Opera House.^[16] In 2012 he directed and produced the Dhamaka Bollywood Concert^[17] with Flex FX Production,^[18] featuring Atif Aslam^[19] performing live with Bollywood dancers Bolly Flex.^[20]

2013 Naz created Bollywood Showstoppers^[21] with Bipasha Basu,^[22] Atif Aslam,^[23] Malaika Arora Khan, Shaan and Bolly Flex ^[24] which took place at The O2 Arena London and the LG Arena (Birmingham) in April 2013. The event was attended by over 18,000 people.^[25] He also produced a charity show called Eid Masti 2013^[26] at London’s Wembley Arena with Shafqat Amanat Ali ^[27] alongside a range of stars from Pakistan on 20 October 2013. In 2014,^[28] Bollywood Showstoppers ^[29] became the biggest British Bollywood production as Naz put together a huge lineup of superstars to sell out the O2 Arena. The lineup of 2014 included Shahid Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Jacqueline Fernandez, Mika Singh, Ali Zafar, classical dance sensation Leena Patel and Bolly Flex. The show also featured Yo Yo Honey Singh. The show received rave^[30] reviews^[31] and all the stars performed exceptionally.^[32] This was without a doubt one of Naz Choudhury's most successful achievements since the beginning of his career.^[33]

He is the first Bangladeshi promoter to produce a show at the O2 Arena. He produced it three years in a row, starting from age 28. He is also one of the youngest producers to create Bollywood spectaculars at the O2 Arena. He previously created sold out touring musical dance shows such as Essence – The Bollywood Dance Spectacular, Bolly Flex on Tour and the Annual Britz Dhamaka concerts at the Royal Albert Hall,^[34] Hackney Empire and Alexandra Theatre.^[35] He started his career in 1997 as a dance performer, then turned choreographer, and has recently been a director turned producer. He has celebrated his 11-year anniversary with Flex FX Productions.

Career

Choudhury founded Flex FX in 2003. In 2006 he was commissioned by the European Union as part of a project called 'The Last Mile',^[36] created by Tribal Education, to create and produce a project for Bollywood and Asian talent in the UK. In August of the same year, Choudhury supplied the Trafalgar Square Festival^[37] with Reflex Dance Company, which provided entertainment for more than 10,000 people. The incredibly popular show ran for three weeks. He then went on to produce Dhamaka^[38] on 14 April 2007, featuring Atif Aslam alongside Jay Sean and Rishi Rich, at the Royal Albert Hall with his dance company Bolly Flex at the age of 23.

Naz Choudhury and his dance team have performed at some of the biggest Bollywood events, concerts and exhibitions in the UK, and have worked with Bollywood stars at shows such as Zee Carnival and the Commonwealth Games Handover Ceremony in Glasgow. One of his highlights was the Oslo world music festival 2011,^[39] where he was highly commended by Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, according to DesiMag.^[40]

History

Bollywood Showstoppers

In 2013-14, Choudhury produced Bollywood Showstoppers and returned to the O2 Arena in London and debuted at the LG Arena in Birmingham. This show has featured the likes of Shahid Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Jacqueline Fernandez, Mika Singh, Ali Zafar, Bipasha Basu, Malaika Arora Khan, Atif Aslam, Shaan and Yo Yo Honey Singh, performing live with his dance company Bolly Flex. The brand has become a household name featuring world class acts collaborating with British talent. Choudhury and Flex FX are celebrating an 11-year legacy with Bollywood Showstoppers.^[41] Over 30,000 people attended the events with a full house Bollywood touring production in London and Birmingham.^[42]

The Flex FX Legacy, Dhamaka Project and Trafalgar Square Festival (2006-2009)

Following a continued effort to promote his brand at various dance events around London's festivals and community events, Choudhury got his first major break in 2006. He was commissioned by the European Union and ESF as part of a project called 'The Last Mile' created by Tribal Education, to create and produce a project to highlight and mainstream Asian talent and Bollywood art in the UK. He went on to create the Dhamaka Project with 100 aspiring Asian artists who participated in his project, which led them to performing with him and the star cast at Royal Albert Hall. As a climax he created an "Oscars" style awards ceremony celebrating the talents of all the young people, aspiring artists and volunteers involved. This project made a huge impact which led him to perform in some of the biggest Bollywood events in the UK and also reach into the European market with performances in Norway, Germany and France. In August of the same year Naz Choudhury supplied The Trafalgar Square Festival with a new act – Flex FX Dance Company.

The launch of Flex FX Productions and Dhamaka Concerts (2003-2005)

After launching his company Flex FX, early ventures included the launch of their signature brand Dhamaka, which made its debut at the Logan Hall in 2004.^[43] The event was headlined by UK-Asian artist Raghav. Choudhury worked with various schools and youth organisations and created innovative dance projects, summer schemes and master classes.

References

External links

• BBC - Dragons' Den - Entrepreneurs - Naz Choudhury
• Official website - Flex FX - founder - Naz Choudhury