The Indian show is rekindling the interest of America’s gay clubs in the 1970s dance style

A woman dances in the spotlight, the glittering tassels on her dress quivering and swaying in tandem with her movements.

But it is her hands that catch the light; they flap, spin, and spin through the air at breakneck speed, almost like fan blades.

These are the opening visuals for a recently released web series on Amazon Prime Video called Waack Girls, a drama about six women who learn a new dance form to become their city’s first all-female waacking group.

Not many people know about the dance, so women have to fight hard – against society and their families – to be taken seriously. But waacking ends up being the gift that keeps on giving.

Directed by Suni Taraparewala, the series comes at a time when many Indian cities – big and small – are celebrating a resurgence of interest in waacking.

“I was fascinated by the style of dance and the importance it places on self-expression,” says Taraparewala about why she did this series.

Workshops and underground walking jams – events where dancers battle it out with their moves – are springing up in several cities, with international walking legends visiting the country to teach the dance.

Archie Burnett, who was a club dancer in New York in the 1970s and 80s and is a respected figure in the waacking community, recently visited India for a jam.

The dancers hope that the web series will give waacking more exposure in the country and show people that there is more to dance than classical forms, hip-hop and Bollywood.

Waacking has a history steeped in the LGBTQ+ liberation movement and the freedom espoused by disco music.

The dance style originated in gay clubs in Los Angeles in the 1970s, when there was a lot of stigma surrounding homosexuality. Gay men used waacking to express themselves on the dance floor and to counter the hatred and discrimination they felt.

As such, the dance style developed fast, sharp and forceful movements – very similar to how comic book heroes beat down their villains, accompanied by sound effects such as “ka-paw” and “bam”.

“Walking comes from the onomatopoeic word ‘hit’ and resembles (the effects) found in comic books,” says Tejaswi Patil, a Mumbai-based dancer who has been walking for over a decade.

The dance style also drew inspiration from the drama of Hollywood and its glamorous leading ladies. Dramatic poses, quick footwork, and flashy arm movements are characteristic of waacking, but dancers continue to add new moves to the repertoire of steps as the celebration of individuality and self-expression is at the heart of the form.

And because of its core ethos, waacking continues to be a tool of empowerment and self-expression for the Indian LGBTQ+ community.

“In fact, many people explore their sexual identity through the dance style because it provides a space for introspection and self-expression,” says Ayusi Amrute, who has been waacking since 2012 and is a frequent host of Red Bull’s Your House Is Waack – jam waacking for dancers all over the country.

“Another important factor is that the waacking community always strives to be a safe space for people to feel comfortable expressing themselves,” she adds.

When dance teacher Amrute introduced walking, the style was virtually unknown in India. Her teacher encouraged her to watch videos and contact dancers abroad to learn more about the style.

“We (a few Indian dancers who started walking more than a decade ago) learned walking the hard way; doing my own research, learning about the history of the dance and interacting with dancers in countries where walking was popular,” says Amrute.

Patil remembers learning how to walk the same way. But today everything is much different. Over the last five years or so, the dance style has become popular and more and more young people are flocking to classes to learn it.

Patil, who teaches dance, says she encourages her students to stay true to the style’s ethos of shameless self-expression.

When it comes to music, India is still searching for its soundscape for this style, she adds. Songs by disco queen Donna Summer and American pop legend Diana Ross are still popular, as are tracks from the 1983 movie Stay Alive.

Bollywood also had its disco era, with songs like Koi Yahan Nache Nache and Aap Jaisa Koi topping the charts in the 1980s, but they don’t often find a place in today’s walking jams.

For Waack Girls, Taraporevala roped in indie artists to create an album of original soundtracks, which Patil says created a whole new and promising soundscape for waackers in India.

“I think it’s time for people to fully embrace themselves for who they are,” says Patil, “and waacking is the perfect platform to showcase what you’ve found.”