Dance with us at DISNEY!
Dance at the Most Magical Place on Earth!
Join Bollywood Groove at the Diwali Dance Fest 2026 in Walt Disney World® Resort. Perform in a world-class parade and showcase your talent on an international stage!
A Diwali Celebration Like No Other
Celebrate the Festival of Lights from, right in the heart of Orlando, Florida. This four-day experience is packed with dance, culture, and Disney magic.
Quick Facts
Where? Walt Disney World® Resort, Orlando, FL
When? October 22–25, 2026
The Stay: 3 nights at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
The Perks: Includes a 3-Day Park Hopper Ticket
The Opportunities
The Grand Diwali Parade: March through Disney’s Magic Kingdom® Theme Park in a stunning Indian parade costume. Available to performers ages 10 and up.
International Dance Showcase: Perform your heart out at Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park. Available to performers ages 6 and up.
Diwali Mela: Kick off the weekend with a celebration at Epcot®.
What’s Included
- 3-Night Hotel Stay at a Disney Resort
- 3-Day Park Hopper Ticket
- Official Indian Parade Costume & accessories
- Exclusive DDF Official Swag Bag
- Commemorative Certificate of Participation
- Select meals and private motor coach transportation to events
Secure Your Spot
Deposit Deadline: A $280 nonrefundable deposit is required by the event organizers to reserve your spot. Bollywood Groove will collect this fee from all performers and send to Disney. We MUST receive this deposit by March 1st.
| Category | Quad (4 people/room) | Triple (3 people/room) | Double (2 people/room) |
| Performer (Parade & Showcase) | $1,600 | $1,800 | $2,000 |
| Parade or Showcase Only | $1,500 | $1,700 | $1,900 |
| Guest | $1000 | $1200 | $1400 |
Additional Bollywood Groove Fee: A fee will be required by Bollywood Groove to cover studio rental, instruction cost, and dance showcase costume.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old does my child need to be to perform?
To participate in the Grand Diwali Parade, dancers must be at least 10 years old by October 21, 2026. Dancers under 10 but over 6 are welcome to shine in the International Dance Showcase.
Is food provided?
Yes, select meals are included! We provide a dinner buffet at the Diwali Mela on Thursday, and meals for dancers/directors before or after performances on Friday and Saturday.
What if my child has to miss school?
A School Absence Letter is available upon request to help excuse the Friday of the event.
What is the cancellation policy?
Cancellations before June 1, 2026, receive a full refund (excluding the deposit). Between June 2nd and July 31st, a 50% refund is available. No refunds can be issued after August 1, 2026.
Ready to make memories that last a lifetime?
Fill out the Interest Form Below!
Winter 2026 Registration w/ FREE TRIAL!
BollyGroove Kids Winter 2026 Registration is now Open!
Incredible India Adventure Classes. Ages 3+
The perfect combination of Indian Culture & History, Dance, Folk Art, Hindi, and more!
Embark on a cultural adventure BEYOND DANCE! Kids explore India through captivating dances, folk art, plays, Hindi, festivals, architecture, and food. More than a Bollywood dance class, it’s a fun journey into India’s rich traditions and diversity!
Winter/Spring 2026 + Annual Recital Registration is now Open!
Winter 2026 OR Winter + Spring at a Discount!
GET READY FOR OUR NINTH ANNUAL RECITAL!
100s of Dancers, full day of performances, one beautiful auditorium, and a Community that believes in Raising Multicultural Kids!
Jun 6 or 7 | All Students Perform
Memories I Did Not Expect AI to Unlock
Once in a while, AI does something worthwhile (barring the extra cobwebs 🙂 )!
The one thing I didn’t have growing up in Bhopal was the USA’s fantastic public library system. My city had one ancient library, a relic of colonial times, named, of course, “The British Library”. The collection was old and outdated, and was too far to visit on a regular basis. But the library that became my gateway to world literature was a tiny Bengali library attached to a Kali Bari. My mom and I shared a ravenous appetite for books and reading, and I used to so eagerly look forward to my visits.
The library was small but filled with books from floor to ceiling. The librarians were extremely well-read, friendly, and warm. It also didn’t hurt that Bengali writers were some of the finest translators of famous works. In some of the cases, when I finally read the original texts, the translation actually seemed better!
So the other day, on a whim, I described my tiny Bengali library to AI, and I was shocked by how accurately it captured it. Except for the unnecessary cobwebs that it decided to add, this is exactly how I remember my source of all reading adventures. The image literally made me emotional and brought back the delightful childhood memories.
Someone Yelled “You’ve Put on Weight.”
“You have put on weight!” someone announced loudly at a crowded public event.
This is the time for fitness resolutions, gym memberships, and also a time when we look at our post-holiday bodies with that critical evaluation of what’s acceptable.
What we often forget as we judge others and ourselves is that there is a story behind the body. It tells the story of the body’s experiences, of everything good and bad that the body has endured.
My own story is not that different from many. I went from running a dance company full-time to a desk job with insane working hours across multiple time zones. My body revolted by doing what it tends to do great in its 40s, it GAINED weight.
Then my body had to go through EIGHT rounds of IVF. And I don’t mean 8 rounds of transfer, no, I mean 8 rounds of Retrieval on the most aggressive protocols. And if you don’t know how much more intense that experience is, consider yourself very lucky. The result? I GAINED more weight.
The moment IVF was truly over, my body decided to pull a trick of itself. It immediately went into Perimenopause, creating a complete imbalance of hormones, brain fog, and a level of exhaustion that I hadn’t known in a while. The result? I GAINED even more weight.
But there is one amazing thing that the brain does in its 40s. It stopped caring about what others think. Once a compulsive people pleaser, it decided to listen to its mind more. I worked very hard to learn to love myself, even when my appearance no longer aligned with society’s standards.
The day that comment was shouted at me happened to be a very special one. After a long time, I was able to get into that lehenga choli outfit, and it made me very happy. Not because I was thinner, but because I was able to use that outfit again. Anyone who has stared at a closet full of clothes that no longer fit will understand.
And that entire dam of self-love that I had built through the year, instantly cracked with her comment. I can’t lie, I felt embarrassed in the moment. I wanted to yell back all the explanations. But I was so startled that I couldn’t even find my voice. I meekly nodded, acknowledging the truth, and took the conversation in a different direction.
I hope this year I can rebuild that dam again. And maybe build it a little stronger so that it doesn’t start to crumble at the first attack.
Picture from that day in my special lehenga/choli 🙂
Steadfast: 2026 Won’t Be Easy, But It Will Be Ours
I tried to write a recap of this year many times and gave up. That alone says what the year was like – fulfilling, chaotic, beautiful, overwhelming, often all at once.
As I watched with horror of every effort around diversity being mocked and torn down, it filled me with an even bigger fire to counteract with joy. A tiny, one-woman rebellion that may not have shifted the world, but created small, impactful change in the rooms I was lucky enough to enter. In some of those spaces, I was the very first Indian cultural educator they had ever encountered!
Just as meaningful was the community that found me. Rebuilding our kids’ classes brought an unexpected gift: families who are open-hearted, empathetic, and deeply aligned with the values I hold. Without knowing it, they helped heal parts of me shaped by past loss.
2026 will not be easy. This year’s policies are taking effect, and funding is drying up. I can already see the strain ahead for a small, mission-driven business like mine.
So the word for 2026 is STEADFAST.
Because this is not a year for grand leaps or glossy optimism, it’s a year for staying rooted and continuing the work with quiet conviction.
Here’s to a new year where we hold STEADFASTLY to joy, culture, and community, especially when they are treated as optional.