Dancers of Nutkhut, the British-Asian dance group, practise at the Buckingham Palace

London, Oct. 12: The Queen will watch Bollywood dancing in the ballroom of the Buckingham Palace tomorrow when she and Duke of Edinburgh hold a reception for 300 members of the British Indian community ahead of President Pratibha Patil’s state visit to the UK from October 27-29.

“The Queen has seen Bollywood dancing before during a visit to Bradford but this is the first time we have had it at Buckingham Palace,” said a spokesperson for the Queen.

In the shadow of a red and gold canopy once used for the Delhi Durbar of 1911, the British-Asian dance group, Nutkhut, went through rehearsals today with the company’s artistic co-directors, Ajay Chhabra and Simmy Gupta, explaining the deeper significance of the choreography to assembled members of the British media.

Simmy said she had stitched together moves and song sequences from her favourite Hindi films, including Pyaar Hua Ikrar Hua from Shree 420; the title song from Jhoom Barabar Jhoom; and Dharak Dharak from Bunty Aur Babli.

The steps will go “from the coy black-and-white movies of the 1940s to the cheeky films of today,” said Simmy.

When Ajay was telephoned by a senior official from Buckingham Palace and told the Queen wanted a bit of Bollywood dancing, he initially thought it was a joke. “It is a great honour and a challenge,” he said.

The Queen, who will be handed a briefing note on Bollywood Steps, the 15-minute number Nutkhut intends performing tomorrow night, will stand with everyone else in the spacious ballroom.

Other members of the royal family will include the Duke and Duchess of Wessex and Prince Michael of Kent. A diverse cross-section of the Indian community, including cricketer Monty Panesar, will be present.

He has not been able to make it into either the England Test or one-day side but he has postponed a visit to South Africa to play club games so that he can make it to tomorrow’s reception. With him will be another former England cricketer, Vikram Solanki.

The businessman, Tom Singh, a well-known name in retail fashion and elder brother of the scientist Simon Singh, has been invited as has the footballer Michael Chopra.

“Normally the ballroom is used for investitures and banquets,” said the royal spokesperson. “But the banquet for the Indian President will be at Windsor Castle this time.”

The canapés tomorrow will make a concession to Indian taste. There will be a couple of chefs from Veeraswamy, one of the oldest Indian restaurants in London. “They will help the chefs at the palace,” the spokesperson said.

After Bollywood dancing at Buckingham Palace and possibly samosas being served at the reception, only one piece of cultural symbolism remains to be achieved in a diverse society — that is for the Queen to wear a sari.