In the year 2010 at Damodar Hall,Parel a group of dancers mesmerised the audience by their sizzling performance on ‘Main Madhuri Banna Chahti hu.’ That the the audience didn’t reject them, instead they tried to match their steps with them, dance like them. That day is forever marked in the history and in the hearts of the people in Bombay.
Dancing Queens is India’s most popular transgender dancing group. Founded by Abhina Aher, Urmi Jadhav and Madhuri Sarode to give the transgender community a sense of individuality. The group was formed as a part of Queer Azaadi, Mumbai. Also to push the boundaries of Lavani- a Maharashtrian Dance form.
But over the years, it has become a tool of breaking various gender norms and advocate transgender rights. Due to its popularity, it has become a way to generate sources for the Queer Azaadi’s Pride Walk.
Abhina Aher, a postgraduate in social work and a software engineer, is also a national programmer manager with India HIV/AIDS Alliance and heads the Asia Pacific Transgender Network. To her dance was a way to be close to her mother. And it’s because of Dancing Queens she feels that with a different sense of individuality. Being a major fan of Madhuri Dixit, her fans also call her the ‘Madhuri Dixit’ of transgender community.
Dancing Queens also runs a campaign called Job with Dignity, a program to empower the community. The campaign focuses on promoting entrepreneurship so that these people can support themselves financially. This includes initiatives such as garment factory and beauty parlours. They are also in process of making the Dancing Queens as a trust that can provide shelter to the needy people from the community. They also want to spread awareness about transgender rights, and the discrimination they face in the society.
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