{"id":1100,"date":"2020-05-14T12:53:13","date_gmt":"2020-05-14T12:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/joya-kazi-interview-bollywood-dance\/"},"modified":"2023-12-26T17:46:07","modified_gmt":"2023-12-26T17:46:07","slug":"joya-kazi-interview-bollywood-dance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/joya-kazi-interview-bollywood-dance\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Joya Kazi: Bollywood Dancer & Choreographer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019re a Netflix fan, you probably know that Never Have I Ever<\/em> is no longer just the name of a game. It\u2019s also a television series, created by  Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, that follows an American girl with Indian roots through the complexities of growing up \u2013 and navigating different aspects of her identity. The third Never Have I Ever<\/em> episode incorporates Indian dance to depict protagonist Devi\u2019s reticence to fully embrace Indian culture. We caught up with the choreographer and dancer from this scene, Joya Kazi, who tells us more about Indian dance, misrepresentations of Indian culture and choreographing for television in this interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dancer: Joya Kazi<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Joya Kazi: LA-based Choreographer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although currently in Los Angeles, Joya Kazi was born in Mumbai and raised in California\u2019s Bay Area. At the age of 16, she launched Joya Kazi Unlimited before studying Theater & Dance (as well as Political Science) at the University of California – Davis. Her dance career includes teaching at the Orange County School for Arts, placing Top 8 on reality TV show Dance Plus<\/em> and training Bollywood stars, such as Priyanka Chopra Jones, Jaqueline Fernandez and Madhuri Dixit. You may have spotted her in Fox\u2019s New Girl<\/em> show \u2013 and, more recently, in Never Have I Ever<\/em> on Netflix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Production originally contacted me to choreograph, cast, and work wardrobe [for ‘Never Have I Ever’<\/em>], but then a few weeks into the process I got a call saying that they actually wanted me in the scene, playing the lead dancer, Preeti. Obviously, I said \u2018yes!\u2019\u201d<\/p>– Joya Kazi<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Dancer: Joya Kazi<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Interview with Dancer, Joya Kazi<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hello, Joya! First of all, congratulations on your latest gig with <\/strong>Never Have I Ever<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong>. It\u2019s really wonderful that you were able to participate in a show that delivers more nuanced, accurate representations of Asian Americans. <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you explain how some other mainstream representations of Bollywood outside of India are inaccurate?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inauthentic and inaccurate representations of Bollywood dance in American culture is a result of centuries of appropriation of the Indian styles of dance and culture based on the convenience and ease of accessibility for westerners. The expectation of something \u201ceastern\u201d and \u201cexotic\u201d is based in what the West wants to see. The problem is that we end up seeing a complete mish-mosh of different aspects from various cultures as a representation of one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, costuming often mixes eastern looking silks with middle eastern jewelry and belly dance scarves \u2013 or garments of different states and countries are thrown together with a lot of sequins, which doesn\u2019t match the type of song or choreography. This in no way paints an accurate picture of any culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choreographically, we are presented with dances that are created by choreographers who have never trained in any styles of Indian classical, folk or commercial dance and have even confessed in interviews that they simply referred to YouTube videos to grab movements for their own use. You have choreographers who have never stepped foot into an Indian classical or Bollywood dance class, who are using the filtered aesthetics and cultural devices that fit their template without ever consulting the knowledge of trained and accomplished choreographers in the industry, and even worse, not even hiring those trained in the style and of the culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They will take gestures and \u201crecreate\u201d or just make up movements that don\u2019t make any sense to the culture and that are almost caricature-like. Things like \u201ctwisting the lightbulb\u201d, vigorously wobbling the head side to side, and throwing up any hand gesture to make it look like it is Indian dance are all misrepresentations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dancer: Joya Kazi<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Yep, I can definitely picture the dance moves that you\u2019ve just described. I\u2019m positive I have been exposed to misrepresentations of  Bollywood dancing, too… <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are common misconceptions of Bollywood dance? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first misconception of Bollywood dance is that it\u2019s an actual dance form. Spoiler alert:\u00a0it\u2019s not. We don\u2019t train in Bollywood dance, but in traditional, folk and classical dances that are at least 9000 years old, dating back to the 2nd century. What the West calls Bollywood dance is really just referring to the choreography of the songs in our films, which are often musicals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other misconception is that Bollywood dance or the types of dances you see in Indian films is the only dance style that exists… and Bollywood dance is just energetic, simple and fun. Yes, [it] can be energetic and fun, but [it is] so much more. These choreographies often pull from modern, contemporary and commercial styles, and are also heavily influenced by the seven classical dances of India that are rich in tradition, training, and technique or folk dances that have their own rhythms, stylizations, and techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, that\u2019s something I didn\u2019t know. I was just about to ask if you felt that practicing other Indian dance forms helps dancers to better embody Bollywood choreography!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone can learn choreography and memorize moves, but to fully embody a dance style you have to build a strong foundation of the technique that can only be found in classical dances. I grew up as a student of Indian classical dance, primarily focusing on Kathak, Odissi & Bharatnatyam, and only began exploring other styles of dance and Hindi Film\/Bollywood dance over a decade into my classical training. I always advise my students to study and train in Indian classical dances to help build the technique and precision that takes the execution of any Bollywood choreography to the next level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was especially excited to [represent South Asian culture] as a dance creative in \u2018Never Have I Ever\u2019 because so often we find that inexperienced choreographers are hired, even though they have never trained in [Indian] dance styles\u2026 The outpouring of love from dancers and South Asians around the world has been overwhelming!”<\/p>– Joya Kazi<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Dancer: Joya Kazi <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Do you personally agree with the term ‘Bollywood,’ and are there any alternative terms to describe this popular Indian dance?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term Bollywood is coined by the West to refer to every single type of art that comes out of India, be it song, music, dance, theater, or film. The more interesting part is that we are also expected to define the term imposed on us by the West, for the West. I like to draw the parallel of Broadway and how many different types of dance styles you can see on the Broadway stage. It can vary from jazz to classical to tap to theatrical and will be influenced based on the time and place that the musical takes place, what the demographic and background of the characters are, and will often be more contemporary than pure classical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, the types of dance styles used in Indian films will take on shape based on these factors. Just like we can\u2019t simply group all the dance styles seen on the Broadway stage together and say that there is only one dance style that exists in the West and refer to all performance art out of the West as \u201cBroadway\u201d \u2013 we can\u2019t do that with the art from India, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the term \u201cBollywood\u201d was coined, we used to refer to the songs we danced to from Hindi films as, simply Hindi Film Dance. I used to always say that I\u2019m an Indian Classical dancer and one of my specialties is Hindi Film Dance. These days it\u2019s pretty tough to get away from the term \u201cBollywood\u201d and is one of those battles I\u2019ve chosen not to fight anymore. Instead, I do what I can to share the knowledge of Indian technical dances and how Bollywood dance or choreographies to songs from Indian films can be based in classical, urban, folk, or commercial based on the stylings of the song and context in the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dancer: Joya Kazi<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The analogy of using \u2018Bollywood\u2019 and \u2018Broadway\u2019 as a blanket term for a variety of dances from one region of the world is really elucidating. But I can see how it is difficult to \u2018get away\u2019 from the popular terminology, as you mentioned. <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What originally attracted you to Bollywood dance, and what made you decide to pursue it as a professional?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I grew up watching Indian films and dancing to the iconic songs, but I never really equated that to a professional Bollywood career until I went to a show where Indian actors were performing their iconic dances from our favorite films. It was there that my mom pointed out a gentleman in the wings, Shiamak Davar, a famous Indian choreographer known for bringing contemporary and jazz dance to India and its film industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was 12 years old and realized that my passion of dance could, in fact, become a profession and I found my purpose that night. I told my parents on the ride home from the show that I had decided to be a choreographer when I grow up. Being a choreographer still didn\u2019t equate to creating Bollywood dances, but more so to create with Indian classical dance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was 16 years old, I launched my company, Joya Kazi Unlimited, with a first set of classes while continuing my Indian classical dance training, which led me to …  a chance to work for a Bollywood dance company. After performing a classical Kathak piece at a community event, I was greeted by a director of a local dance company who wanted to speak to my parents to ask if I could audition. After my audition, I quickly became the youngest choreographer for the company at 16 and began my professional work in Bollywood dance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeing as it would help lead me to my commercial career, I continued working in the space as I went on to study Theatre & Dance with an emphasis in Choreography & Production Management at UC-Davis. After moving to LA nine years ago, my work has been a nice balance of Indian classical and commercial\/ Bollywood work ranging from Hollywood to Mumbai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dancer: Joya Kazi<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s quite a dance journey \u2013 from starting your own dance company as a teenager to sharing your dance across the globe. <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you tell us how you specifically choreograph for film, like you did for Never Have I Ever<\/em><\/strong><\/em>, versus a live performance? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating choreography for camera is very different from creating for stage. The camera doesn\u2019t need loud and exaggerated movements like the stage does and you\u2019re not having to engage a vast audience, but more so create to direct the eye of the viewer based on how the scene is shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once I have an understanding of ideas for the storyboard and shotlist, I can start choreographing with the camera in mind. Specifically for Never Have I Ever<\/em>, I started with submitting various samples of choreography that included different Indian classical, folk and more commercial dance styles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once I got the go on \u201cNagada Sang Dhol Baaje<\/em>\u201d from production, I then had to find a way to authentically represent the South Asian diaspora without knowing whether or not we would ultimately get the rights for the song Mindy had originally chosen. Given that, we couldn\u2019t lip sync in the typical Bollywood fashion [and] the choreography couldn\u2019t be too tightly woven into that particular song in the event that it would be changed out in the final episode… Given those restraints, I\u2019m pretty happy with the final product!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wow, that sounds really difficult \u2013 especially not knowing if the choreography would stand with another song!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that we’ve learned a little bit about your Indian dance background and choreography, who are some of your favorite Bollywood performers, choreographers and teachers? And which Hindi dance films do you recommend? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favorite Indian film actors are also the ones with the best dance skills. Hrithik Roshan is an incredible dancer, and I used to learn all the dances he did in films growing up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Queen of \u201cBollywood\u201d Madhuri Dixit has forever been an inspiration in my dance. She was a dancer before she became an actress, is trained in Kathak classical dance, and always exudes grace, class and beauty in any style that she does. I backed up for her at the International Indian Film Academy awards and found her to be just as amazing in real life as she is in real life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, I created a dance tribute for her which she featured in the season finale of her dance reality television show \u201cDance Deewane\u201d and in the same week, the video was a top 5 nominee for \u201cFavorite Concept Video\u201d at the Universal Dance Awards. It was amazing seeing recognition for Indian music, dance and my choreography in both Hollywood & \u201cBollywood\u201d in the same week!<\/p>\n\n\n\n