I love Indian moves: Kevin SteaDIVYA PAL , TNN, Apr 19, 2010, 12.00am IST [image: Kevin Stea] <javascript:showsld1();> Kevin Stea <javascript:javascript:showsld1();>
Having performed with the likes of Madonna, Michael Jackson, Prince, Ricky Martin<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/music/I-love-Indian-moves-Kevin-Stea/articleshow/5828348.cms#>, George Michael, Celine Dion and the Pussycat Dolls on world tours, international singer and performer Kevin Stea speaks to TOI about his participation in AR Rahman’s forthcoming world tour. How did the offer to participate in AR Rahman’s world tour, set to start in June, come to you? Actually, I didn’t audition for it. I was just helping the team organise the auditions when I got the opportunity. I couldn’t have let the offer go. When I heard Rahman’s compositions, I felt they were very contemporary. His style is both impressive and infectious - something I haven’t heard or seen from any other Indian artiste. Have you met AR Rahman? No, it has happened yet. I’m looking forward to meeting him. I have read a lot about him and really appreciate his body of work. I’m sure the first meeting will be interesting. You’ve done several stage shows and performances. A year ago, during a live performance with Madonna, you broke her tooth accidentally. Has that made you grow extra cautious during stage performances? I sure learnt my lesson! She was behind me during the performance and the mike was too close to her face. Since I was looking away, I hit her mike, unintentionally, which broke her tooth. It was a scary moment for me. For some time, I didn’t know what had happened. But the incident has helped me learn to pay more attention to the artistes’ safety. I make sure I know the artiste’s position on the stage so that it doesn’t happen again! So Rahman is safe? (Laughs) Of course. That incident will never be repeated. Will the concert be an amalgam of different dance forms? Or will the focus be only on a particular dance style? It will essentially be about Indian dance. That’s what the focus has been on during the auditions. A lot of attention is being paid to the movement of hands, which is pretty interesting. I simply loved watching it. In a way, I grew nostalgic. My first encounter with Indian dance styles happened years ago, when we shot for Michael Jackson’s video Black Or White, in which Michael performed with an Indian dancer. How many performers are expected participate in this tour? There will be about 16 dancers, of which eight will be from the US and the rest, I believe, from India. You are half-Chinese and witnessed discrimination in ‘90s – the phase when you were struggling to enter the world of modelling. A decade later, do you think the situation is any better for Asians trying to find a foothold in showbiz in the US? There has been a significant change in the way people think of Asians now. For instance, it is not so much about blondes, white guys with big muscles as it was in early ’90s. The success of Slumdog Millionaire has helped the non-white community a lot. Indian music and talent is being acknowledged across the world like never before. Since Rahman is an Asian, it is important that he gets more Asian performers for his tour. It is about time an Asian artiste hires Asians performers for such esteemed world tours. What’s the ‘We Can Do It’ campaign, which you are supporting, about? This poster campaign is an initiative to support the LGBT community. The key motive is to spread the word among those who don’t belong to the metropolitan cities and aren’t aware of the LGBT community. It is an attempt to prevent the portrayal of the community as victims. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/music/I-love-Indian-moves-Kevin-Stea/articleshow/5828348.cms -- - Regards ~ ~ A.R.Rajib ~ ~
