Although she is a Goan, a bulk of her career met successhere in Mumbai. A popular face on Indian television “ Lillian Mendes “ rose tosuccess after appearing as choreographer on dance shows such as Boogie Woogie,Nach Le, Jhalak Dhik Laja, Nach Balliye and Just Dance.
Till 15, dancing was an unfamiliar passion for choreographerLillian Mendes, but the day she performed at a professional show under theguidance of Tobby Fernandes, this young lady found her true passion. “It wasfor Lou Bega who was performing in India and we were introducing the eveningwith Stereo Nation. The big stage and the crowd gave me such an adrenaline rushto perform,” Lillian recalls.
After accepting opportunities to perform at various showswith the best choreographers in India and abroad, came the biggest opportunitywhere Lillian was selected as one of the choreographers on reality dance showNach Balliye. “As much as I wanted to become a choreographer, I was equallyafraid as there was a lot of competition and it would be difficult to getthrough. But with all the hard work I have been quite successful,” Lilliansays.
It can be a cakewalk to copy someone else’s choreography,but can get equally tough to conceive a creative and most importantly, anoriginal piece. For Lillian, the conception of a choreography starts in bed asshe tosses and turns trying to visualize the dance steps in her mind. “Thedance number is decided on whatever captures the right story or what needs tobe portrayed by the performance,” She adds.
Lillian is a certified dance teacher for Ballroom and Latinfrom the Joy of Dance centre and teachers training College in Canada. “Ispecialise in waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, tango, Viennese waltz and Latin danceslike samba, cha cha, jive, rumba and Paso doble,” she says, adding, “Iunderwent training conducted by some of the best teachers in Canada as it wasmy dream to get trained. I also specialise in Bollywood, which is the heart andsoul of Indian dancing and it is required the most for reality shows andmovies. Last but not the least, I love salsa because it’s the most fun and Ilove the music.”
It’s interesting to learn that Lillian managed to impressthe Canadian choreographers and is yet to accept their offer to join theirstudio as a Bollywood dance teacher. In the meanwhile, she’s devoting her timetowards teaching students at her dance class Dance Planet. Simultaneously,Lillian is also involved in teaching dance to municipality school kids inMumbai. “It brings me a lot of happiness to share something as priceless asdance with these little ones,” she says.
When Lillian is not on the floor, she’s glued to hercomputer looking for inspiration. “If I am not dancing I am always watchingother people dance,” she admits.
As a child, Lillian visited her homeland every vacation, butas she grew older, these visits had to be trimmed. The only time she visitedGoa was when she had a show. However, she tried hard to juggle her work scheduleand take a break to relax and spend some time with her family in Cuncolim, Goa.
Lillian asserts receiving numerous respects when she setsfire to the floor with her jive moves. When asked which her favourite dancenumber was, her reply was Goan masala. “The Goan masala demands high energy andis so much fun. It brings together everyone on the floor irrespective ofwhether they are dancers or not.”
Lillian clarifies that even though she was born and raisedin Mumbai; her heart is of a true Goan as she loves the laidback attitude,food, drinks and of course, music!
