Designer Amy Billimoria celebrates her 40th birthday over a charity fundraiser. The designer, in collaboration with Nargis Dutt Memorial Charitable Trust (NDMCT) hosted a fund-raiser at her store in Juhu, Mumbai, where some of the illustrious names from the film industry walked to support the cause.

Power women from the movie industry took to the ramp with little girls in much style and aplomb ? Dia Mirza, Mini Mathur, Maria Goretti, Madhoo, Rhea Pillai, Queenie Singh, Urvashi Sharma, Akanksha Agarwal, Reshma Merchant and actor Zayed Khan came together to support this great cause.

On this occasion Amy Billimoria says, ?To me the idea of celebration is doing something that triggers real happiness within, and what better way to mark a milestone in your life, than seeing little children light up their faces with a smile. To me my 40th birthday will reinstate my endeavour to always strive to make a difference. With this charity event, my dearest friend Jyoti Mukherjee and I will be empowering women and children in a village in Palghar and we are eagerly looking forward to a great show?.

Focusing on both tradition and change, Amy Billimoria has interpreted ornate hand embroidery on varied silhouettes from indo-western drapes, bridal lehengas and her ever green saris for the show. The colour palette for this collection ranges from ferns, peaches and champagne gold to different shades of blue.

For the fund-raiser, Amy Billimoria?s dear friend, designer Jyoti Mukherjee has designed outfits for the little girls who walked side by side with the influencers. The collection is a modern twist to vintage styles and silhouettes, and complements the outfits of the ladies who the little girls walked with.

Jyoti Mukherji says, ?I am thrilled to be a part of this great cause, where Amy and myself will get to do out bit to empower women and children of Palghar.?

Priya Dutt, Trustee NDMCT in her support says, ?On behalf of our NGO, Nargis Dutt Memorial Charitable Trust, I hereby would like to express my gratitude for your initiative, The Walk of Pride to support our effort with this fundraiser. The proceeds from this initiative will go towards women and child empowerment of Sonave Village, Palghar, Maharashtra.?

Actor Dia Mirza comments, ?I am proud of Amy Billimoria and Jyoti Mukherjee for putting together this wonderful show this festive season. I am happy and very pleased that people from civil society are taking such decision and contributing towards the society?.

By Papri Das

When you take names like Madhuri Dixit and Terence Lewis in the same breath, you already know that you?re in for an epic dance show! This World International Dance Day, the two have come together to celebrate contemporary dance with a one of its kind dance festival in India - Jugnee.

So what makes this experience unique from the numerous dance festivals that happen round the year? Festival curator Terence Lewis throws light on it. ?In India and more so in Mumbai, we hardly have any ?only dance? festival and having one solely on contemporary dance is non-existent. Moreover, the dance community in India and Mumbai works in isolation and are unaware of the opportunities they have for themselves. Jugnee provides a platform to these dance enthusiasts to come together, interact and learn from each other, whether they are professionals, choreographers, trainers or amateurs.?

A five day non-profit festival, Jugnee offers a miscellanea of activities for dance lovers like workshops by international and national teachers, emerging artist, panel discussions, film and documentary screening, etc, that builds up a ?D Positive? (dance positive) atmosphere in Mumbai.

?Our efforts have been to keep this festival completely non-profit with minimum ticket prices for the performances. We are also granting a fully funded scholarship to one of the deserving participant of Jugnee, who will get the chance to go to Impulstanz International Dance Festival in Vienna,? shares Lewis.

An icon of dance in India, Dixit?s name is synonymous with talent grace and beauty! Since it is Mumbai's first indo contemporary dance festival, there?s no one better than this Mumbai girl, who gave dance respect and dignified it with her performance. Delighted at having her onboard with the festival, Lewis says, ?Madhuri has always supported dance and young artists selflessly, and seeing the potential this dance festival has as a platform to bring together various dancers from all over the country, she readily agreed to be part of the festival.?

Lewis is also working closely with Dixit in her free dance tutorial app (Dance With Madhuri: DWM). The main focus of the festival is to bridge the gap between international teachers and emerging dancers of India and provide guidance and opportunities on dance as a career. Splendid performances by the talented dancers from well-established companies as well as emerging artistes in the field are also in store at the festival.

The five-days of the festival will be held at the following venues across Mumbai:

? 29 April: NCPA

? 30 April: Prithvi Theatre

? 1 May: St Andrews

? 2 May: Social (Meet & Greet)

? 3 May: Equal street walk (Dancing on the streets)