Suresh Mukund: This is a win for Indian hip-hop

Suresh Mukund exults as Kings United wins the World Choreography Awards 2020 in the best choreography category for a television reality show

Nearly 50 dancer-choreographers of the Mumbai-based hip-hop dance group Kings United have been on a sabbatical since the beginning of the pandemic, as live performances and workshops came to a grinding halt. “Health and safety of our dancers and their families are a top priority. Work and money can wait,” says Suresh Mukund, the group’s founder-choreographer. However, on May 16, as the World Choreography Awards 2020 were announced, the team had its morale booster coming in the form of an award — best choreography in the TV reality show category — at the World of Dance Season 3. “We are proud of winning the award; it’s been a tough time for all of us,” says Suresh, speaking days after the announcement. Kings United had won NBC’s reality show World of Dance Season 3, which also fetched the dance group an Emmy nomination (for the category Outstanding Choreography For Variety Or Reality Programming, 2019). This had put Kings United in the reckoning and the dance group had been signed for national and international performances, many of which were cancelled following the COVID-19 outbreak.