A Kathak dancer from Varanasi has broken the world record of longest dance performance by continuously dancing for 123 hours and 30 minutes.
On April 9, 2016, Kathak dancer Soni Chaurasia,31,daughter of a pan vendor, broke the world record of longest dance marathon with her non-stop dance performance. Chaurasia danced continuously for 124 hours and broke the five-year-old previous record set by Kalamandalam Hemalatha of Kerala in the year 2011. When Soni entered the 123rd hour of her performance, the crowd started cheering for her to complete the last hour and enter the Guinness World Records.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom Soni wanted to be present when she broke the record, congratulated her in a tweet: “Soni Chaurasiya, a bright youngster from Kashi has made us proud. Congratulations to her.” Soni began her performance on April 4 at 6 pm on a school campus in Varanasi. While no official from the Guinness World Records attended the performance, two cameras had been installed to record Soni’s each move.