Dancer and Singer Shivani Paliwal of Udaipur’s Rajeev Surti Dance Factory has become the face of India in Now United, a US based Pop band.

One of the most outstanding dancers of RSDF, Shivani has brought laurels to her family, city and institute after being selected into the Pop group for its three year global tour.  The selection for this slot was not easy as the participants had to go through grueling audition phases – however, this star performer from Udaipur has taken the top spot and will accompany Now United in its three year global tour across major cities, where she will showcase her dancing and singing skills.

Leena Sharma, Shivani’s mentor and Chief Choreographer at Rajeev Surti Dance Factory Abhishek Vaishnav said that Simon Fuller, the Producer of “So You Think You Can Dance” and “American Idol” had collected videos of performers from 11 countries.  The motive behind this exercise was to select top performers from different countries and form the Now United global Pop band, which will travel across the globe and perform in different countries.  The concept inculcates a feeling of unity in diversity, where dancers and singers from different countries performing on a single stage will showcase a single thread of solidarity.  Hence, Now United will be a platform where various dance forms and vocal talent will be showcased on one stage – a unique concept.

It is with this motive that Simon came to India and started his search for the best talents in India.  His foray into India brought him into contact with Rajeev Surti, who shared Shivani’s video with him.  This video got Shivani selected in the Top 40 in India.  Shivani was then sponsored for a trip to Mumbai for the final auditions.  Getting through the tough auditions, Shivani made a place in the Top 2, which impressed both Simon Fuller as well as Bollywood Choreographer Bosco Martis.  Hence Shivani along with Mumbai’s Simran Duggal will now represent India in the Now United team.

The team consists of members from China, West Africa, Japan, Korea, UK, Russia, Germany, USA, Mexico and Brazil, apart from India.  Bringing a smile to faces of people across the globe is the singe point agenda of this group.

Leena Sharma informed that in the next phase, all dancers will be called to Los Angeles for training for a week.  The world tour will begin after the culmination of the training.  All expenses for the trip to US as well as the World tour will be borne by Simon Fuller’s company.

Shivani began her training for dance and singing since she was three years old.  Her interest in dance was identified by her family and all supported her in this endeavor of hers.  Proper guidance from family members, her induction into Rajeev Surti Dance Factory over the last three years and intense hard work has resulted in her shining at this young age.  Shivanis’s grand parents, Rajendra Kumar Paliwal and Leela Devi Paliwal have expressed their happiness on her global selection and have expressed hope that the young girl will reach heights in her field of interest.