Reena Shah

🪔 About

Reena Shah is a multifaceted artist, recognized as a professional classical and folk Indian dancer, innovative choreographer, and accomplished actress. Born and raised in Livingston, New Jersey, USA, Shah received her foundational training in Bharatanatyam, a prominent South Indian classical dance form, under the tutelage of The Late Guru Padmini Ramachandran at the esteemed Padmini Institute of Fine Arts. Her dance repertoire extends beyond Bharatanatyam to include Garba + Raas, Bhangra, and Bollywood dance styles, which she often integrates with American dance movements in her performances and workshops. Shah's career highlights include her role as Assistant Choreographer and a dancer in the Universal Pictures feature film "The Guru," where she imparted Bollywood dance techniques to notable actors such as Marisa Tomei, Heather Graham, Jimi Mistry, and Michael McKean. She has extensively toured as a dancer and Bhangra dance instructor with DJ Rekha, gracing stages at significant events and venues including Central Park Summerstage, S.O.B.'s, the Brooklyn Museum, the Queens Museum of Art, Hammerstein Ballroom, the 2009 Wakarusa Music Festival, and the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Additionally, she collaborates with Sunny Jain and Red Baraat as a Dance Educator and Demonstrator. In 2010, Reena Shah served as a Cultural Ambassador for the US Embassy in Peru, conducting two weeks of Master Classes in Indian Dance as part of the American Film Institute's Project 20/20 Tour across four cities: Lima, Cusco, Puerto Maldonado, and Tarapoto. Her solo dance creations have been featured at Chashama's Oasis Dance Festival, and she performed as a Principal Dancer in Noemie LaFrance's site-specific dance project, AGORA II. Beyond her dance endeavors, Shah is also known for her acting roles, voice-over work, and abstract visual art. She notably provided the speaking voice for Sita and was a rotoscoped dancer in Nina Paley's critically acclaimed animated feature film "Sita Sings the Blues." Reena Shah continues to actively perform and conduct interactive Indian dance workshops for diverse audiences at cultural events, universities, and festivals globally. She also contributes her dance, vocals, and traditional Indian Ghungroo Anklet Bells to the rock band My Pet Dragon, alongside her husband, Todd Michaelsen.