User:Sarang Kazi/sandbox

HASAN RIZVI Hasan Rizvi is a dance visionary; musical director, actor and choreographer. He shot to instant fame by organizing the first hip hop and Bollywood dance tableau of Pakistan –  Cinema Live – in which he displayed his directorial, acting and choreography skills. His credit listings also include performances in, and choreography of, Komal Rizvi’s Comeback Video (June 2010), Samar Mehdi Fashion Show (April 2008), HUM Tele Film Awards (December 2008), Nestle TVC (2009), Dance Couture (2008), Imaginations Unwrapped for LG & ElectroLux (2009), as well as a dance for television serial ‘Ishq Junoon Dewangi’. However, he is most widely known for establishing and running the first Dance & Fitness studio of Pakistan – BodyBeat Recreational Center Studio. Hasan, was elected ‘Hip Hop Ambassador’ by the US department of State to represent Pakistan in 2010 which included 4 state performances in the United States.

Biography

Early Life:

Born in London, UK to business entrepreneur, S. Tariq Fuad Rizvi, and Rana Tariq in the spring of 1984, Rizvi spent his childhood in Lagos, Nigeria, where his family had moved for a few years. Rizvi did his high schooling from Karachi, Pakistan and later moved to Canada for his Honors degree in economics. While there, he also availed the opportunity to be formally trained in different dance genres, having been interested in dance since the age of seven. His exposure to different cultures allowed him to explore dance forms like Bollywood, hip hop, contemporary, rain dance, salsa, classical, bhangra and break dancing. But, the dance genres that Rizvi found most fascinating were hip-hop, Bollywood and bhangra, and he dedicated his free time to mastering these forms by formally receiving training from several reputed choreographers.

Career:

Rizvi’s first live public performance was in a South Asian Alliance competition held at Hershey’s Center, Toronto, Canada in March 2007 in which   universities participated. Over 7000 auditions of groups of students were held nation-wide from which 15 universities were selected as finalists. Needless to say, Rizvi’s team of 30 students came home with the first prize. On his return to Pakistan Rizvi accepted an offer to choreograph and perform for a Samar Mehdi Fashion Show where he had the opportunity to work with Pakistan’s top models – Iraj, Sunita Marshal, and Nadya Hussain.

Not content to rest on his laurels, Rizvi was determined to make dancing a respectable and sought-after medium of expression among the upper classes. Hence, he introduced the first Bollywood and hip hop Dance Studio in Pakistan – BodyBeat Dance Studio Private Limited – in May 2008. The Studio was an instant success with a waiting list that stretched for several months. Soon news of its popularity spread across the Wagah border, and the Press Trust of India approached BodyBeat for a hot-seat interview of Hasan Rizvi.

Later the same year, Hasan was offered to perform at one of the few award ceremonies in Pakistan recognizing talent from across Pakistan – HUM Tele Film Festival Awards. In addition to choreographing Meera’s dances for the show, he performed alongside actor and model, Humaima Irtiza.

Rizvi reached out to an even larger audience by launching the first Bollywood and hip hop dance tableau in Pakistan, Cinema Live. He brought together Shahid Sharif (model), Sana Jafri (VJ), Jibran Zuberi (TV host and producer), Maya Khan Rind (television host/actor), Faisal Kapadia (singer-Strings) and Komal Rizvi (television host/actor) for this one-of-a-kind event. Rizvi put up a five-day show which was widely appreciated by the electronic and print media alike. Quoting one of the reviews – printed in Herald – “ huegkddsksii.”

Rizvi’s most recent offering is his performance and choreography for a drama serial, ‘Ishq Junoon Dewangi’, in June 2009 during which he worked with some of Pakistan’s biggest TV actors – Adnan Siddiqui, Humayun Sayeed and Umaima Abbasi – and award-winning producer, Momina Duraid.

Personal Life: Rizvi was exposed to the television industry at a very young age with his sister, Komal Rizvi, launching her first pop album in Pakistan; later re-launching it in India and the rest of Asia. Komal was also an actor in Pakistan’s popular drama serial ‘Hawaiin’ and host for Channel V. Rizvi married his childhood sweetheart, a talented designer, Hina Ramzi, in July 2007. Hina is not only the co-founder of BodyBeat Private Limited but also the producer of Cinema Live.