'Dancing is a full body workout'

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Not only is dancing a whole load of fun, it's also an excellent and probably one of the most enjoable workouts around. And American dancer and actress Lauren Gottlieb will attest to that.

The dance icon who has been on the reality dance competition So You Think You Can Dance and also was a runner up and later a judge on Indian television dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Ja was in Goa for a fun cardio dance workout at Jardim Garcia de Orta, Panaji, and admits that she had a blast.“ I was a little unsure about how many people would actually be up for it at 8 am especially on a Saturday morning in Goa, but it was quite amazing!” admits Gottlieb.

At the same time, she confesses that she was a little nervous as well. “This is the first time that I have done something like this and I enjoyed the whole collaborative fun. I love doing activities where many people come together for fitness and fun and it felt great doing it but I was nervous while walking in. I just put on my headset and people were calling my name and I felt like Britney Spears,” she says before going on to elaborate on the benefits of dance from a fitness perspective.

“You can be fit only with dance. In fact while growing up I only danced. With dance you are always moving in different directions, twisting and keeping levels. You can hit more parts of the body than you can do when you are in the gym and just doing one range of motion, so it really is the best,” she states. For her part though, Gottlieb tends to keep her fitness routine a little varied. “As I got a little older my mind tended to wander and I got a little bored so I had to change it up a little,” says Gottlieb who does a bit of crossfit, pilates and running as well. “I usually like to listen to a nice audio book while I am running and I really get into working out. In fact of late my friends have been coming up to me and telling me to stop working out for everyone in the room! They tell me I am making the other guys there look bad,” she laughs.

And while Gottlieb is all for getting people to commit to being fit, she cautions that it has to be done step by step. “If a person goes all out to make that lifestyle change and says, 'I am going to healthy and fit and I am going to give it my all', that is great. But you can't just say that and go straight to picking up a humongous thing. You have to go through the steps to make sure that you are being healthy and not overdoing it,” she says, adding that this is what some people tend to do. “Some people lose their way and just drop out of it while others binge on it. They set goals to get fit in six weeks etc. That is not going to happen. You have to change your lifestyle and you go to consider the future too and not put your life in jeopardy.”

Apart from her dance stints, Gottlieb has also made a headway in her acting career and had a lead role in the 2013 Bollywood film ABCD: Any Body Can Dance. In fact it was this film that made her come down to India which she describes as her destiny. While she had previously been a part of TV shows like Ghost Whisperer and Glee, Gottlieb found that Bollywood was perfect as it gave her a chance to both act and dance.

However she hasn't ruled out taking to Hollywood in the future. “ I always had this thing on my mind that I would be like an older actress in the industry kind of like a Sofia Vergara from Modern Family, more womanly and older and still think this is going to be the care in the future. Right now I am young and for now this is great. I am exactly where I want to be and doing exactly what I want to do and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else,” she says. Apart from her one Bollywood film, Gottlieb has also done a Punjabi film Ambarsariya and a short film Triya Charitra and is open to experimenting with South Indian films as well. Indian TV serials however is not her style. “ If you look and compare Indian soaps with American shows you can see a different style and I am not the kind to hem it up and do something over the top. I like the more casual and realistic shows. And if something like this comes up I could change my mind,” she says. As for the difference between Indian reality shows and abroad, Gottlieb notes only one significant difference. “ In America they film live for two hours, while here its filmed for like 14 hours which makes for very long days. Plus you get a lot of unseen and unwanted footage. Over there it is very live which is terrifying and exhilarating at the same time,” she states.

Her much well-deserved fame however has also led to her being a subject of a few unwanted remarks by online bullies but Gottlieb does not let that affect her. “There are a small portion of people who maybe are having a bad day and they take it out on me with comments like why am I here in India etc. But I brush it off because I know why I am here. I know that I am doing some good stuff and I think people appreciate it. So I am not going to let one bad egg ruin my mood,” she says, adding that it is not just celebrities but a lot of people in general who go through this. “ It is very easy to be online and spew out hate comments and this not great. I think that is the worst thing about the internet,” she says. “But for most part, I have got a lot of love from people.”