Dancing with the stars: The women who built Team Naach’s 5M-strong community
Mumbai-based dance studio Team Naach, started by Sonal Devraj and Nicole Concessao, offers a range of dance styles, from Bollywood and semi-classical to belly dance, hip-hop, and more.
On a Sunday afternoon, almost 100 people—mostly women and a few men—came together from far corners of Bengaluru to dance along with Sonal Devraj and Nicole Concessao, the duo behind the dance studio Team Naach.
The room buzzed with energy and laughter as they tried to match every step led by the duo. Among the mix of people—a mother-daughter duo, a couple, and a group of young girls—at the Team Naach India Tour, one thing that united them all was a genuine love for the duo.
Starting their journey from a small dance studio in Mumbai’s Khar suburb, Team Naach today has 5.12 million subscribers on YouTube and 790,000 followers on Instagram.
The Mumbai-based dance studio, which conducts in-person workshops and online classes, teaches a range of styles, from Bollywood and semi-classical to belly dance, hip-hop, and more.
“Women of all ages come to dance with us, and many share that they find a sense of belonging and comfort here. For many, Team Naach is more than just dance; it's a community,” Concessao shares with HerStory.
The dream that never was
Nicole Concessao (left) and Sonal Devraj (right)
For Concessao, dance has always been an integral part of her life.
In 2005, she finished school and returned to Mumbai from Nigeria, where her family is based. Soon, she met Devraj at Shrimati Mithibai Motiram Kundnani College of Commerce & Economics during graduation, and their shared love for dance brought them together.
However, the duo could only meet during dance classes and events, and their friendship became stronger after they finished they graduated in 2010.
Concessao stepped into the corporate world and lost touch with dance, although she tried to find time to choreograph at some weddings. Meanwhile, Devraj pursued a career in modelling, photography, and acting and taught dance independently.
Neither of them had ever thought of taking up dance as their profession until a studio opened in Khar in 2014. It was run by a couple looking for dancers to teach a class, and the duo decided to step in on a whim and give it a try.
Their first dance class became the cornerstone of the dream they had never dreamt of. In the same year, the duo officially started Team Naach.
“When we started teaching dance, there was no looking back for us. We were just so happy doing it. I used to travel after my job to teach these classes, and all I could feel was sheer joy,” Concessao adds.
She says that the two friends complement each other when it comes to running the business. “We do very different styles of dance forms. So, this diversifies our offerings, and we learn from one another.”
Going from zero to one
Team Naach today has 5.12 million subscribers on YouTube and 790,000 followers on Instagram.
Concessao admits that their classes had three to four students in the beginning.
Moreover, there is a close-knit dance community, including people from various dance schools, who all know each other.
“We were just two normal independent dancers who did not belong to any dance school. We were just trying to teach dance and make our own space in the dance community,” she adds.
She emphasises that in the initial days, they used to earn the same amount as the studio’s rent. “We just enjoyed doing what we loved. So, we continued on the same path. It was not that challenging financially as I continued my job till 2016 and Sonal did her projects,” she adds.
They started promoting their dance choreographies on YouTube and gave out pamphlets to advertise their classes for more students to join. In 2016, thanks to social media, their popularity grew.
“The five students went up to 70 soon. We even got our first million views in the first year of posting our videos on YouTube,” she says.
The duo started by teaching specific choreographies to students, which was not a common concept back in 2014. They also used to conduct dance fitness sessions. However, they were hit by another roadblock.
They had to shut physical classes as the pandemic’s grip got stronger. However, their never-dying spirit led them to switch to an online medium.
“This opened us up to a whole new world. The sales were great, and many people from across the world came to attend our classes,” she adds.
The Mumbai-based dance studio conducts in-person workshops and online classes.
Following the same pattern, the duo still puts out choreographies of various songs on their social media and teaches them in their online and offline classes. They also take workshops in Delhi, Bengaluru, Kochi, and more cities.
What started as four to five workshops over two years in various cities, the duo now hold seven to eight workshops in just two months. They declined to disclose their revenue.
They also collaborate with actors like Shraddha Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit and Hrithik Roshan and brands to curate dance content for promotions.
While the duo is exploring ways to work on choreographies for Bollywood songs, they are currently focusing on content creation and their workshops.
“Content creation is a tough job because along with teaching dance routines, we need to come up with new and good choreographies too,” Concessao adds.
Team Naach plans to launch their merchandise and a US dance tour soon.
Looking back, Concessao recalls that they were fortunate not to face gender bias. However, the challenge of having no manpower drove them to handle everything in the beginning—from shooting and dancing to editing and managing people.
She adds, “There were challenges and, sometimes, things didn’t go as planned. But Sonal and I believe that if something didn’t work out, it just wasn’t meant to be.”
“When young girls tell me they can’t find time for dance, I always encourage them to make time for their passion. After all, a little naach (dance) can bring so much joy to life,” she chuckles.
Edited by Suman Singh
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