I am teacher first and then a choreographer- Gaiti Siddiqui

Choreographer Gaiti Siddiqui has added another feather to her cap as she will be seen as the judge/mentor in Dance India Dance season 5 along with Punit J Pathak and Mudassar Khan.

Gaiti is well know for Choreographing many Bollywood dance numbers including the hit track Baby Doll. She was part of DID series as a trainer and now for the first time she wil be seen facing the camera as a judge.

Lets here it from Gaiti about her experience of being a judge and more....

How excited are you to be a judge on Dance India Dance?

I think excitement is an understatement because I have been associated with the show from a long time. In season 3, I trained the contestants, then I supervised DID Super Moms, I did Dance Ke Superstars season 1 v/s season 2 where Punit was also there. So I have had a very close association with DID but its always been behind the camera. Finally I have gotten a change to come in front of the camera. Pehle mera kaam bolta tha par ab main bolungi, now I will sit and will be judged for my work which I was doing behind the camera. Teaching behind the camera is very easy because people know you only by your name, but when that name gets a face, the responsibility increases. Today when I sit and judge, I have to be very careful while giving comments, because whatever we say, it becomes ultimatum for the contestants. So now I understood that what a big responsibility it is to be a judge and sometimes I am a little scared as well.

You are the only female judge in this season, so do your relate yourself with Geeta Kapur?

Not only Geeta ma'am but also Remo Sir and Terence sir have set a bench mark for us. So if we are able to at least reach nearby to that bench mark, it will be a very big achievement for us. But stepping in someone's shoes doesn't mean that you have to imitate that person, I feel every individual have their own personality. We hope and pray that that way audience loved Geeta ma'am, Remo Sir, Terence sir and other judges, they love us as well.

How difficult is it to choose a handful of contestants from so many participants?

It is heart breaking and is very difficult to choose from so much talent because from the audience we came across so many great dancers but because of one point difference in their marks, many of them get rejected. So it's a very hard task!

From how long are you in the industry and any desired person whom you want to choreograph?

I am in the industry from past 12 years and I would love to choreograph Ranbir Kapoor. I want a director to tell me that you have to choreograph a dance for Ranbir which should be his best song ever in terms of dancing. I have Choreographed Ranbir Kapoor for the song Udh Chala from the movie Rockstar. But he was supposed to look as a non-dancer. So I wish to can do proper dance choreography for him.

How will you mentor the contestants who will be in your team?  What will be your strategy?

My career started from teaching, so with a mindset of being a teacher I will train my group. I am teacher first and then a choreographer. I will teach the members in my group to not only to be good dancers but also to be good performers. I will teach them that when you perform, you need to be confident and not over confident!  You need to have right posture and most importantly, you need to have the right attitude.

All the best Gaiti!

Neha Jain