Bollywood goes to the Dales.

Byline: HENRYK ZIENTEK

A BOLLYWOOD dance teacher in Huddersfield is injecting a little eastern culture into the Yorkshire Dales.

Fartown woman Salma Zaman, who owns Salma's Bollywood Academy and choreographed the Coronation Street Bollywood Boxing Day special, will teach monthly classes at a Skipton hotel from next week.

Karen and Malcolm Weaving, owners of the Hotel, are opening their doors to the new trend - which has created a buzz since the success of the film Slumdog Millionaire.

Salma said: "I've seen a 20% increase in enquiries since the launch of Slumdog Millionaire. It's been overwhelming..

"Because people from all backgrounds now see Bollywood dancing as a fun way to keep fit, I wanted to expand my classes beyond the traditional city centre venues.

"The Yorkshire Dales has nothing like this at the moment so I'm expecting demand to be high and bookings to flood in." Salma has also chosen the Rendezvous Hotel to host the North of England's only Bollywood Dance Championship on August 9.

Students will come together under one roof to perform in front of 300 family and friends - with Coronation Street's Jimmi Harkishin, better known as Dev, lined up to be on the judging panel.

Salma said: "I hold Bollywood classes in cities throughout Lancashire and Yorkshire, including the Galpharm Stadium in Huddersfield, but the Dales is a first for me.

"Bringing all my students together once a year is a very special occasion and Rendezvous is the perfect venue with its stunning Skipton location and capacity to accommodate large numbers.

"I'm delighted that together we are creating an opportunity to encourage ethnic minority families out of the inner cities and into the country." Karen said she had aimed to make the hotel accessible and engaging to people of all backgrounds and interests since taking over in 2004.

The hotel is backing the Mosaic Partnership, an initiative led by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority to promote the area to community groups from wider backgrounds.

Karen said: "We are so excited about the classes and hosting the Bollywood dancing championship.

"It's a fantastic opportunity for more people to learn about Bollywood dancing and keep fit at the same time.

"In partnership with Salma we're delighted to bring the Eastern experience of Bollywood out into the North Yorkshire Dales." The monthly Bollywood dance classes get under way from May 6..

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* DANCING: Salma Zaman (back) and Rendezvous Hotel's events and conference manager Lindsay Mueller prepare for the launch of the Bollywood classes