Promoting Mauritian Culture and Heritage on the UK Stage

Diaspora

By Kishore Teelanah

The Mauritian diaspora in the United Kingdom consists of British citizens of Mauritian descent. Those who have settled in the UK—whether married to fellow Mauritians, white British, Asians, or other Europeans — all share a common goal: to build a better life and create new opportunities.

This is a story of pure determination, led by Priamvada (Pria) Jugdhar, who founded the Segatastic Dance Company alongside three other talented sega dancers. This year, they staged a landmark production called A Journey Through Mauritius at a London theatre. As their first UK-Mauritian dance theatre production, it served as a vibrant showcase of Mauritian culture for an audience of both British and Mauritian spectators. Attendees were treated to an spectacular performance featuring vibrant sega dances, cultural storytelling, and traditional Bhojpuri songs. The audience was so thrilled by the high-energy rhythms that many got out of their seats to dance.

Meet the Dancers

Pria Jugdhar – Pria was deeply involved in dance, theatre, drama, and singing from a young age. At just nine years old, she performed the Bollywood song “Saat Samundar Paar” outside the Plaza Theatre in Mauritius. She later progressed to stage dramas performed in Bhojpuri, Creole, French, and English, and developed a strong passion for singing through her participation in bhajans and kirtans.

She moved to the UK at the age of 18 and soon trained in Bollywood dance at the Shiamak Davar Dance Academy under Karan Pangali. Alongside her work as an Activities Coordinator, Pria worked as a freelance performer and volunteered in residential and nursing homes, entertaining residents with various dances, including sega. She later met belly dancer Shakira Jacobs, who inspired her to create unique fusion styles blending sega, Bollywood, belly dance, and Bhojpuri.

As the Segatastic family grew, Soulma Hoseny and Saji Hussain joined the group, strengthening its cultural mission. Today, the group performs at weddings, birthdays, and major UK events. Together with her business partner Soulma, Pria runs Bollywood classes, sega workshops, and a wellbeing class called BollySoul, which combines psychology, energy healing, and dance. Segatastic is widely recognised for its signature entrance, which proudly features the Mauritian flag and the ravanne — a traditional sega percussion instrument.

Soulma Spyridonos (Hoseny) – Born in the UK to Greek and Mauritian parents, Soulma grew up immersed in Mauritian traditions. She is a mother of two daughters, aged 21 and 22. In her 30s, she pursued a passion for dance and trained professionally in Bollywood dance, becoming both a performer and teacher. This path led her to major UK stages, including the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics, where she performed alongside 250 dancers before a live audience of 80,000 and millions watching worldwide. After joining sega groups in her 40s, she rediscovered a deep connection to her Mauritian roots.

The Segatastic group proudly promoting Mauritian culture and heritage at a community venue

Soulma also holds a master’s degree in psychology and applies her expertise to coaching psychology. She volunteers at a menopause café and supports others through coaching and creative tools, blending these wellbeing practices with Mauritian culture to make them more accessible within the community. Currently, she serves as an Operational Hub Lead for a local council, managing staff and projects that support schools and colleges across nine local authorities, with a focus on helping young people with health and wellbeing.

Recently, Soulma was appointed Cultural Lead Ambassador for Mauritius in Cultural Fashion and Arts. In addition to her busy lifestyle, she has taken up sewing her own sega costumes as a beautiful way of honouring her heritage.

The Segatastic group delivering an exemplary performance alongside guest artists at a London theatre

Saji Hussain – Saji is an accomplished Brazilian samba dancer and teacher, who is also trained in belly dance and burlesque. Her connection to sega emerged through the tight-knit bond of friendship and sisterhood within Segatastic. She recognizes deep cultural parallels between samba and sega, noting that both art forms are rooted in the resilience of historically enslaved communities.

For years, Saji balanced a demanding career in retail while spending her evenings and weekends in dance studios rehearsing and assisting with Brazilian samba classes. In 2017, she launched her own dance classes. Professionally, her career involves community outreach projects, ranging from visiting schools to teach vital interview skills, to working with job centres and retailers. Her projects also include supporting young offenders and aiding their integration back into society.

Saji’s outreach extends to working with Disability Support Services and local schools, using dance as a universal language. In her classes, the focus goes beyond steps and rhythm; she utilizes movement to foster body confidence, self-expression, and the resilience needed to navigate life’s challenges.

Shakira Jacobs – Shakira is a talented belly dancer, yoga practitioner, and martial artist. Although she is of Caribbean heritage, her ancestral roots trace back to Africa, where sega originates. Shakira felt an instant, instinctive connection to sega’s grounded movements, vibrant costumes, and joyful rhythms, and it has since become an integral part of her artistic journey.

She first discovered sega through a belly dance teacher who invited her to audition for a group. Drawn in by the energy, sega resonated with her deeply. Its rolling hip movements and vibrant costumes connected Shakira to the wider world of island cultures that celebrate life through dance. Taking up sega has been a joyful expansion of her artistic repertoire, allowing her to celebrate and share an aspect of Mauritian culture with new audiences while seamlessly blending it with her other performance styles.

Kishore is a semi-retired teaching and learning expert in science. He worked in the NHS during the 1970s, followed by a long career in Further and Higher Education. He writes science blogs, advises on teaching and learning, and actively promotes the Mauritian diaspora in the UK.

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 26 June 2026