Choreographer Noel Alexander Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
In early 2015, the band Masala Coffee enthralled music lovers by singing ‘Kantha’, a traditional folk song celebrating Thrissur Pooram. Thanks to Mumbai-based choreographer Noel Alexander, who has his roots in Kerala, the track has been winning hearts for the last 10 years.
Noel’s choreography of the song has gone viral on social media and the artiste is on cloud nine. “I had no idea dance would catch on to this extent,” says Noel over the phone from Mumbai. He has already announced several workshops to teach choreography and is planning a South India tour with sessions in Bengaluru, Kochi, Thrissur, Hyderabad and Chennai.
Born in Kottayam district of Kerala, Noel grew up in Gujarat and moved to Mumbai four years ago to take up dance as a profession. “In my workshops I usually teach a particular song. It started with the viral Gujarati track, ‘Khalasi’ and it became popular. After that I taught the Rajasthani song, ‘Chaudhary’, the Telugu song ‘Inkem Inkam’ (Geeta Govindam) and the Tamil track, ‘Unakku Thaan’ (blog)The videos are posted on his Instagram handle @alexander_noel_janam.
Noel Alexander in his attire for the track ‘Kantha’ Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
When many requests came to pick a Malayalam song, his first choice was ‘Malare’ Premam“It’s extremely popular and is the only Malayalam song I can sing! Then a friend asked me to listen to ‘Kantha’. I was amazed. I didn’t need to think twice because as soon as I heard the first line, I could imagine everything about Kerala – houseboats, coconut trees etc. Also, since I have been to Thrissur Pooram, I know the atmosphere there. I have seen how passionate people are about the festival. I want I want the rest of India to know the vastness of Pooram. For me, this song was a symbol of Kerala and Pooram,” he says.
Noel mentions that he looked into the origins of the song. It is an old poem, apparently about a woman requesting her lover to take her to Thrissur Pooram, one of the famous and largest temple festivals of Kerala, held every year at the Vadakkumnathan temple in Thrissur. The songs describe the sounds and mood of the festival, especially the beats of percussion instruments, fireworks etc. Masala Coffee gave it a new feel with live orchestration and arrangement when they presented it. music mojo On Kappa TV, with Suraj Santosh [now not a part of the band] As the lead singer.
Noel says that he did a lot of research about the dance styles to suit the song. “I incorporated elements of Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Kaikottikali and dance styles that I have learned. Since I am not a well-trained classical dancer, a friend helped me. I didn’t want to make any mistakes and offend anyone.”
A screenshot of the video ‘Kantha’ featuring Noel Alexander Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
He specifically mentions using the hand gestures of Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam. “What I like about classical dance forms is how gestures are used to communicate. I used Kaikottikali because I was mesmerized by it when I saw it at the Pooram site.”
He usually launches new choreography in Bengaluru and ‘Kantha’ was performed at a dance-in studio in the city earlier this month. “I was particular about wearing a black shirt mundu With golden border. It is very difficult to dance wearing this mundu,
Noel believes that just as he celebrated Garba through ‘Khalasi’, he wanted people to know about Kerala through ‘Kantha’. “I hope people will see how beautiful Kerala is in terms of art and culture. The state is one of my favorite places and whenever I come to my hometown to visit my grandmother or my sister who lives in Kochi, I enjoy it a lot. I love food,” he says.
Choreographer Noel Alexander Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
He also conducted ‘Kantha’ workshops in Mumbai and Kolkata and will hold the next workshop in Delhi on November 1. “I was skeptical about whether they would understand the song, but was overwhelmed by the response of the contestants. It went viral because of the cultural context of the work. People took to it immediately because of the freshness, too.”
After the video surfaced, he also interacted with Masala Coffee Band. In fact, in their social media interactions the band has even expressed interest in collaborating with him live on stage.
Choreographer Noel Alexander Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The 28-year-old says that in his early days as a dancer he used to do hip-hop and western dance. “That’s when I became attracted to Kathak and its storytelling when I saw one of my teachers performing. The turning point was participating in reality shows.” dance plus [on Star Plus] Where I saw the contestants performing various classical dance styles. So I decided to explore more Indian forms. He also formed a dance troupe, Janam, during that show and has been working behind the scenes of various dance reality shows.
published – October 30, 2025 03:49 PM IST