Want to dance in heels? This class in Chennai teaches you how to

Heels, a sensual dance style that combines techniques from jazz, ballet, and the runway, is now in Chennai. We strap on our stilletos and learn a few moves

I walk in heels with the grace of a novice showman on stilts. I wobble, have the gait of a feeble foal, and end up propping myself against a table or wall for the rest of the evening. So when I stumble upon Shweta’s Heels dance choreography classes, it piques my interest.

Can this help improve my posture? Armed with a pair of one-inch stilletos, I land up at the studio. In comparison, Sweta’s stilletos look like the Empire State Building. Sleek and four-inches high. But the size of the heel does not matter, she smiles. “To begin with, being comfortable in your body is more important than the heels,” she says. Through Heels dance, Shweta also also hopes to educate people about body positivity.

We begin class with a few mindfulness exercises, followed by a warm-up routine without the heels. “These are to strengthen your ankles so it’s easier to move in heels. Dancing in these shoes is physically enduring, so it’s important to stretch,” explains Shweta.

After 30 minutes it is time to slip into my formidable heels. The movement flow is designed in such a way so as to not overwhelm the student. She first takes me through the heel and ankle movement, followed by the waist and upper body and finally the hands come in. We try each segment with music. The final segment at first is a blur — my hands refuse to keep pace with my legs and move awkwardly like an inadequately wound clockwork doll. Shweta is a patient teacher and goes through the sequence repeatedly till there is a semblance of coordination and finesse.

This style of dancing can be credited to burlesque dancers. strippers, and showgirls. Over the last decade or so, Heels has been picking up as a popular dance form in the US, with icons like Beyonce and Britney Spears performing this style in their videos.

In India, however, it is still in a neo-nascent stage. “When I started teaching dance in 2023, a lot of spaces were not open to this style because anything sexy is often deemed vulgar or obscene,” says the 24-year-old, adding that she approaches the dance style as a means of healing and not sexualising the dancer. For her, dance has been a great way to express herself.

“A lot of people don’t want to talk about what they are feeling, they just sit with their emotions. When I moved to India from the US in 2020, I was going through some personal problems that I couldn’t express otherwise but could do so through my dance,” says the dancer who was a figure skater and also trained in ballet and jazz.