Cultural diversity is more than just clothes and cuisine—it thrives in
movement, music, and visual storytelling, writes Jhanvi Charkhawala.
A spectacular example of this was Hollywood Meets Bollywood, a dazzling dance and swimming event produced by Yorkshire Life Aquatic in collaboration with Zoobin Surty Company, which lit up the heart of Ilkley on the 12th July.
Set against the stunning backdrop of Ilkley Moor, Ilkley Lido became a stage for a vibrant cultural fusion. Indian colour and rhythm met the glamour of vintage Hollywood in an enchanting outdoor performance that blended Bollywood dance with synchronised artistic swimming. The event opened with an eye-catching 10-minute performance in colourful Indian costumes, choreographed by renowned choreographer Zoobin Surty. Zoobin is known for his expertise in blending Indian classical and contemporary dance, and runs classes across Yorkshire including at Yorkshire Dance and Bradford Arts Centre. This segment sparked a joyful Bollywood-style procession around the pool, followed by three captivating performance pieces delivered in front of Ilkley Lido.
The event opened with an eye-catching 10-minute performance in colourful Indian costumes, choreographed by renowned artist Zoobin Surty, known for his expertise in Indian classical and contemporary dance. This segment sparked a joyful Bollywood-style procession around the pool, followed by three captivating performance pieces delivered in front of the Lido.
The audience lit up as performers—radiant with joy—danced to the beat of popular Bollywood tracks. Adding a shimmering twist was the synchronised swimming segment by Yorkshire Life Aquatic, whose choreography was inspired by vintage water shows in the style of Busby Berkeley and Esther Williams. Their performers, gliding through water like ethereal blue mermaids, brought a touch of Old Hollywood magic to the evening.
The grand finale merged both worlds: a combined aquatic and dance performance set to Jai Ho, the iconic anthem from Slumdog Millionaire by A. R. Rahmen. It was a powerful closing act that united the artistic traditions of both East and West in one joyous crescendo. Around 50–60 performers took part in the show. Remarkably, 18 were completely new to either Bollywood dance or synchronised swimming. Others were drawn from groups Zoobin works with in Bradford, Leeds, and York, as well as members of the Bramley Mermaids Club, a synchronised swimming group that’s life began as mermaid exercise at Bramley Baths back in the Summer of 2013.
Rehearsals were no easy feat. While practise sessions with Zoobin Surty at Kala Sangam ( Bradford Arts Centre) laid the foundation for the land choreography, coordinating in the pool presented challenges—swimmers could only rehearse in 20-minute bursts for the first few sessions at Ilkley lido as the pool temperature was an average of 16 degrees. For many, this was either the first time they had swam in cold water or the first time they had attempted artistic swimming. The Bollywood dancers also had the exciting challenge of translating their choreography to poolside, as well as working with performers who were not only new to Bollywood dance, but new to dancing at all!
Yorkshire Life Aquatic teach a form of artistic swimming that is accessible to all abilities, combining dance, breath control, and unified movement in a creative and fun way. Bollywood Meets Hollywood was made possible with support from Bradford 2025. The Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture‘s Creative Communities Fund, delivered by Give Bradford, is supporting community organisations to engage local people of all ages and backgrounds in creative cultural activities as part of Bradford 2025 through the creation of inclusive and accessible opportunities.
All in all, it was a glorious, sunlit evening that celebrated collaboration, community, and creativity—a true cultural mosaic in motion. The audience even joined in en masses at the end in an impromptu Bollywood session. The stunning pictures for this event were taken by Lizzie Coombes
(@BettyLawless)