‘Waack Girls’ inspired by 1970s Gay Club Dance Culture in the US

Waack Girls was released on Amazon Prime Video in November 2024.

It centres on six women who learn a new dance form to become Kolkata’s first all-female waacking crew.

Not many know about the dance, so the women have to fight against society and their families to be taken seriously.

Directed by Sooni Taraporevala, the series was released amid a renewed interest in waacking in India.

She said: “I was fascinated by the dance style and the importance it gives to self-expression.”

Dancers hope the web series will give waacking more visibility in the country and show people that there’s more to dance than classical forms, hip-hop and Bollywood.

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

The dance form emerged in Los Angeles gay clubs in the 1970s when there was a lot of stigma surrounding homosexuality.

Gay men used waacking to express themselves on the dancefloor and push back against the discrimination they faced.

The dance style developed sharp and forceful movements, accompanied by sound effects like “ka-pow” and “bam”.

Mumbai-based dancer Tejasvi Patil said:

“Waacking comes from the onomatopoeic word ‘whack’ and is reminiscent of [the effects] found in comic books.”

Waacking also drew inspiration from Hollywood and its glamorous leading ladies.

Dramatic poses, quick footwork and striking arm movements are characteristic of waacking but dancers have continued to add new moves to the repertoire of steps, as celebrating individuality and self-expression are at the heart of the form.

Because of its ethos, waacking continues to be a tool of empowerment and self-expression for India’s LGBTQ+ community.

Ayushi Amrute, a regular host of Red Bull’s Your House Is Waack, said:

“In fact, many people explore their sexual identity through the dance style because it allows space for introspection and expression.

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

When Ayushi was introduced to waacking, the style was virtually unknown in India.

Her dance teacher encouraged her to watch videos and reach out to dancers abroad to learn more about the style.

She continued: “We [the handful of Indian dancers who began waacking over a decade ago] learnt waacking the hard way; by doing our own research, learning about the history of the dance and connecting with dancers in countries where waacking was popular.”

In the past five years, waacking has grown in popularity, with more young people attending classes.

Tejasvi Patil, who teaches dance, says that she encourages her students to stay true to waacking’s unabashed self-expression.

When it comes to music, India is still finding its soundscape for the style.

Songs by Donna Summer and Diana Ross are still popular, as are tracks from the 1983 film Staying Alive.

Bollywood had its own disco era, with ‘Koi Yahan Nache Nache’ and ‘Aap Jaisa Koi’ becoming chart-toppers in the 1980s, but they often don’t have a place in today’s waacking jams.

For Waack Girls, indie artists were brought in to create original soundtracks, which has created a promising soundscape for Indian waackers.

Tejasvi added: “I think the time is right for people to embrace who they are fully and waacking is the perfect platform to showcase what you find.”