Achinta McDaniel’s LA-based dance company fused Lewis Carroll with Bollywood elements for last fall’s Paheliyan (Riddles): The Story of Alice:

Take one part ballet, toss in bits of tap, jazz and hip-hop, then blanket it all with a variety of Indian movement. You get Bollywood-Tech…

The original story remains intact, but there are changes. For example, the White Rabbit becomes the Brown Bunny Rabbit. Musician Aalok will appear as the sitar-playing Caterpillar. Dhol Nation will play live percussion. [Link]

And that’s how you get Alice in a bindi, dancing next to a guy doing bhangra in a pagri, kurta and chunni, and Mad Hatters in pajamas:

The troupe previously performed Karishma, a Bollyfication of A Midsummer Night’s Dream plus The Wizard of Oz. Next up are two variations on the theme:

In 2008, the company will premiere Bollywood Cabaret! at Highways Performance Space, as well as KHEL, an original Bollywood Ballet at the Ford Amphitheatre. [Link]

McDaniel’s Blue13 troupe was also hired for a recent beer commercial, Heineken’s ‘Share the Good.’ Here’s the ad:

You can see photos of the shoot at the company’s MySpace page:

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