CIBC IIFA Bollywood Moves Dance Competition Finalists get ready to perform on the world stage

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Jun 10, 2011, 05:36 ET

Top ten finalists vying for chance of a lifetime to dance at IIFA Awards Show

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TORONTO, June 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - Today CIBC (TSX: CM) (NYSE: CM) officially introduced the 10 finalists from a nationwide search for Canada's best Bollywood dancers at a press conference held at the company's head offices in downtown Toronto. The dancers are in town rehearsing for the live finale of the CIBC IIFA Bollywood Moves Dance Competition to be held at Toronto's Yonge-Dundas Square on Saturday, June 11.

See photos and a montage of the finalists' competition entries.

Two of the finalists - the top male and the top female - will win the exciting experience of dancing on stage at one of the world's most watched awards shows. IIFA Project Head Noreen Khan, one of the competition judges, was on hand to help welcome the dancers.

"These CIBC finalists are being given a tremendous opportunity to work with top coaches from Shiamak Davar as they prepare for Saturday's competition," said Noreen Khan. "The two winners will be part of one of the worlds most prestigious Awards shows with a live audience of more than 20,000 and millions more eyes on them across the globe."

"Dancing with the Shiamak Davar Dance Company on the IIFA stage would be the thrill of a life time," said Alex Arora, a finalist from Abbotsford, B.C. "I had the privilege to meet Shiamak in 2009 and it changed my outlook on dancing and on life."

CIBC is presenting sponsor of the 2011 IIFA Celebrations to be held in Toronto June 23^rd-25^th. The IIFA Awards, fondly known as the 'Bollywood Oscars', are the annual awards for India's global movie industry. The event, taking place in North America for the first time, is expected to attract over 40,000 visitors to Toronto as well as a global audience of 700 million viewers.

"CIBC is excited to offer these very talented young dancers something no one else can - an opportunity to dance on the stage at the IIFA Awards," said Raza Hasan, Senior Vice-President, CIBC. "We congratulate our 10 finalists for making it to the final round and we wish them the best of luck on Saturday. It's going to be a great competition and great show for our audience."

The CIBC IIFA Bollywood Moves Dance Competition finalists

Alex Arora - Abbotsford, BC
Natalia Bonafin - Vaughan, Ontario
Arvind Chauhan - Abbotsford, BC
Chase Constantino - Mississauga, Ontario
Kalpita Desai - North Vancouver, BC
Chelsea-Rayne Gordon - Toronto, Ontario
Alice Howell - Vancouver, BC
Seema Singh - Woodbridge, Ontario
Raman Srivastava - Toronto, Ontario
Tobin Thomas - Mississauga, Ontario

The judging panel consisting of principal dancer Deeba Patel from Shiamak Davar Dance Company, IIFA Project Head Noreen Khan, and Miss India-Canada, Anchal Sharma, will select the top male and top female at the finale on Saturday evening. The event is part of the 'CIBC Celebrates the IIFAs' Bollywood festival that CIBC is hosting at Toronto's Yonge-Dundas Square.

The CIBC IIFA Bollywood Moves Dance Competition invited Canadians to register for the dance competition and submit a one-minute video of themselves dancing to select Bollywood music tracks. Details of all of CIBC's IIFA-related activities, including the Yonge-Dundas Square event, can be found on CIBC's dedicated website, www.cibciifa.ca.

About CIBC
CIBC is a leading North American financial institution with nearly 11 million personal banking and business clients. CIBC offers a full range of products and services through its comprehensive electronic banking network, branches and offices across Canada, and has offices in the United States and around the world. You can find other news releases and information about CIBC in our Press Centre on our corporate website at www.cibc.com.