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Over 100 past members of the Stanford Dollies are expected to perform at halftime during the home football game against UCLA on Saturday, Oct. 21. One of the main organizers behind their reunion is Sangini Majmudar Bedner, a creative dynamo from Portola Valley who instead of wearing her Dollie outfit from 30 years ago, will be sporting the “Once a Dollie, always a Dollie” black T-shirt she designed for a smaller gathering a decade ago.
But being a member of the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band’s cheerleading troupe is only part of the professional dancer’s story that started at age 4 when she studied ballet, jazz and tap in her hometown of Atlanta.
As a first-generation Indian American, Bedner represented Georgia and won the Miss India national title when she was a student at Stanford majoring in American Studies. She then headed to Los Angeles to pursue work in theatrical, TV, film and musical video projects. After gaining experience in teaching and choreography, she returned to the Bay Area in 2006 and is now known as an active Portola Valley School District mother of two who choreographs student musicals and runs the annual bingo fundraiser. She continues to draw upon her Hollywood expertise when she produces promotional videos for the school district’s bingo event, which in the past has sold out in 24 hours.
Bedner’s website, sanginimb.com, illustrates her wide range of other activities. In the last month alone, she has taught dozens of people Bollywood-style dances online and in person so they could participate in a traditional event held as part of a local wedding celebration.
Every week she teaches two hip-hop classes, one for kids in Woodside, the other for moms in Portola Valley. And Bedner produced instructional videos and distributed them to hundreds of former Dollies to refresh them on the routines they will be doing with the five current Dollies.
Before Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff they plan to march into the stadium waving their pom-poms when the Stanford Band plays the fight song. Later on, they expect to entertain the crowd with five songs during halftime.
Bedner is also actively involved with the Portola Valley Theatre Conservatory
“Theater, I love more than anything else; I love how you have to be in the moment, how you have to think very quickly, and read your audience,” she said.
A career highlight for her was acting in an original play that was so successful in Los Angeles that it took her to New York when she was in her early 30s. She admits however, what she didn’t enjoy back then is how her professional life felt like such “a roller coaster full of highs and lows.”
For a while she helped support herself by tutoring kids for celebrity clients such as Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson. Observing their crazy schedules confirmed for Bedner that she “wanted to be a hands-on parent,” and contributed to her decision to make some changes and move.
She signed with an agent in San Francisco, did some commercials, and married Ilja Bedner. She also got hired to do choreography for corporate customers, for example, teaching Bollywood dancing at offsites as a team-building exercise.
On what she calls her “favorite” gig, she was eight-months pregnant and “popping out” while leading a flash mob dance for a group of Stanford Business School students. She fondly recalls Condoleezza Rice grinning on the sidelines.
When COVID-19 hit, Bedner turned to making videos and strung together shots of Portola Valley kids dancing in their Halloween costumes. They couldn’t trick-or-treat in 2020, but she figures they still got to participate in their community in a fun way.
This fall Bedner is teaching hip-hop to a group of young kids at the Village Hub in Woodside on Monday afternoons. The following mornings she instructs 10 women at Portola Valley Town Center.
At a recent session, rhythmic music blared as the moms bounced, shook and stretched for an hour, sweating smiling, and stopping long enough to mop a brow with a towel or take a swig from a water bottle. Bedner energetically modeled the hip-hop moves in the front of the room, only taking a brief break to switch the tunes.
After class she explained, “I am a professional dancer, I was trained that you must excel … now I just teach from the fun place and I say, ‘Just connect with your spirit and use the music as a way to express whatever is going on.’”
“Dancing is my therapy,” she said. “This is a chance to have an hour where you do something for yourself.”
Bedner confesses she sometimes feels guilty for being paid to do what she loves so much — combining her passion for teaching and creating with being and connecting with people.
She describes herself with one word: extra.
“I just want to be extra and give extra,” she said.
So, at the Saturday night Stanford game, look for the performer making an extra effort, and chances are you will see Bedner, always a Dollie, and a lot more.
Get info about Sangini Bedner’s classes and more at sanginimb.com
The Stanford Dollies perform at the Stanford vs. UCLA game Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m. at Stanford Stadium, 625 Nelson Road, Stanford. For more information, visit gostanford.com.
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Sangini Bedner performs at a Dollies’ mini reunion at a past Stanford football game. Bedner helped organize a reunion of over 100 Dollies, who will perform at the Oct. 21 game when Stanford hosts UCLA. Courtesy Ilja Bedner. -
Sangini Bedner teaches hip-hop classes to adults and children at Portola Valley Town Center. Photo by Kate Daly. -
Sangini Bedner teaches hip-hop classes to adults and children at Portola Valley Town Center. Photo by Kate Daly.
