This Indian Dancer Created A Feminist Dance Series That Beyonce Would Be Proud Of.
We always love a good East meets West Fusion. So when we saw Bollywood dancer Reejuta Joshi rocking out to Beyonce's power anthem 'Flawless', we fell in love. But most importantly, her dance meant more then just some bad-ass moves. Reejuta Joshi is making a feminist stand through her 7 part dance series, each entitled after a word that has underlying issues women face on a daily basis. We sat down with Reejuta to find out more...
1) What attracted you to dance and how long have you been dancing?
Dance is fascinating to me because it's such a unique form of storytelling. It's an unspoken sharing of concepts, ideas, and feelings. It is so fun to tell your story and to understand others' in an interpretative yet universal language. I've been dancing since I was little and have tried a few different styles growing up.
2) Tell us a bit about your Beyonce inspired feminist Flawless series. It looks amazing!
Thank you so much! Working on that was an incredible experience I will never forget. It was an understanding of feminism across the minds of so many boss girl dancers I was lucky to collaborate with across New York City. The series was inspired by a speech of Chimamanda Ngzoi Adichie's that Beyonce sampled for her song ***Flawless. In the speech, Adichie discusses a few major themes of feminism, and I thought it'd be interesting to explore those through a diverse and largely South Asian lens. I could not believe how collaborating with old and new artist friends to create each dance, costume, video, concept, everything could actually bring my initial vision to life. I'm so thankful for everyone who was involved in that project, particularly for Bollyshake for working with me. You can see the full series here: http://bit.ly/FlawlessDanceSeries
3) Is dancing your full time gig?
Nope! I'm a Product Owner at a technology startup in New York City. I just dance because I really love to.
4) It’s 9am. What does a typical day ahead look like for you?
I've usually gone to the gym by now and I'm getting prepped to start my day at work. I spend most of my weekdays in the office, and like to mix weekday evenings between dancing, chilling, and doing things in the city. If it's summer though I'm always outside. I love to be outside when it's warm.
5) How gruelling is your workout schedules and do you have cheat days?
I typically work out 4-5x a week, not including dance. I have to exercise a lot because I can't help myself when it comes to dessert. Especially chocolate.
6) Who would you love to dance for or with?
Madhuri. I would love to see how she learns a piece.
7) What’s your daily skincare routine?
I use the Proactiv method. It's amazing, I don't have to think about anything.
8) How do you take your tea?
Iced. If it's not tea, then it's usually a coffee.
Keep up with Reejuta's latest projects by following her on her social media @reejuta
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