‘Call Me Dancer’: Mumbai street dancer

The new, inspirational documentary, Call Me Dancer, will be in theaters starting December 15. A story of perseverance, passion, culture and an unlikely friendship, Call Me Dancer follows a street dancer from Mumbai, Manish Chauhan, who struggles against his parents’ insistence that he follow a traditional path. Then, he meets a curmudgeonly Israeli ballet master, who inspires him to follow his dreams. Directed by Leslie Shampaine and Pip Gilmour, Abramorama will release the film in theaters starting in New York theatrical engagement at The Quad Cinema.

Chauhan is now a dancer with Peridance Contemporary Dance Company in NYC, and will be the lead in the company’s upcoming rendition of The Nutcracker starting December 7. Shampaine is a former professional ballet dancer for over 13 years.

Since its world premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival this past February, Call Me Dancer has been receiving critical and audience acclaim, and has won 11 awards at film festivals around the world. It will be playing in the upcoming Hamptons Doc Fest and has already won the Art & Inspiration Award.

Call Me Dancer promises to take viewers on a magical journey, from the streets of Mumbai to the stages of New York. Filmed in India, Israel, the UK and the U.S., it is a story of perseverance, rebellion, passion, family, culture and an unlikely friendship. The documentary features music from singer/songwriter Jay Sean and hip hop artist Anik Khan, with a score by Nainita Desai and Nina Humphreys.