1. Tell us more about your background and journey.
I was born and brought up in Noida. Studied in an amazing school - "Delhi Public School Gr. Noida". I was a scholar student from a science background. But was always into extracurricular activities. I have played interstate and all India level Basketball from my school.
I was trained and then featured in a theater production by "National School Of Drama". I was the sports captain and secretary student council of my school. I was one of the school's best dancers since the 2nd standard.
I had the best schooling experience because that made me who I am today. They shaped my personality into a confident strong-headed woman which helped me make my place in the industry in Bombay.
I did my graduation in maths and economics from Delhi University. I have the best family. Supportive and loving parents, adorable dog Scooby, irritating yet exceptional siblings, and wonderful friends.
2. When did you first decide you wanted to pursue dancing and how did you start?
It started in 1st standard with my first dance competition in school that my mother choreographed for me on the famous song Piya-Piya. I still remember wearing a blue and pink corduroy pant with little fringes on it.
So I just started dancing and was constantly appreciated and pushed by my dance teachers and friends. Started representing the school and loving being the center of every dance thing that happened in my school.
Soon after completing school, I joined "The Danceworx" where I trained professionally as a student, a company member, and a teacher for two years in ballet, jazz, and contemporary.
Since a lot of my friends were auditioning Mom asked me to audition for "Dance India Dance season 4" and so I did. By the grace of God, I was selected. I made it to the top 10.
It was my first reality show on TV and a dream come true for someone who had never even been to Bombay or knew nothing about the industry here.
DID make it easy for my parents to accept my dancing career since they wanted me to continue with my studies and have a safe future and take dance as a hobby because of my love for dance. But seeing me on TV made it easy.
After that, I shifted to Bombay. A place I had never visited before. A place I had no family in and I was 17 years old. I am a hard-working and confident girl. I believed in myself and I don't know how but the right opportunities kept coming my way and I was clear with what I don't want to do.
I started working as an assistant choreographer with a lot of amazing people like Feroz Khan, Caesar Ghonzalves, and a lot more. Choreographed biggest of artists like Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Ananya Pandey, and many more.
I was the finalist of another reality show called "D4 Dance" in the Malayalam industry. Continued doing theater. Was the lead actress of a huge musical called "BEYOND BOLLYWOOD" performed in the "Kingdom of Dreams" (Gurgaon).
Have done Adds for brands like OnePlus mobile, FastTrack, Airtel, animal planet, etc.
3. Who is your favorite dancer and why?
I don't have a single favorite dancer. I love a lot of dancers and I follow different people and try to learn the qualities that attract me most. I am contemporary jazz and ballet trained dancer but I love doing classical, hip-hop, Bollywood, and folk forms too so I follow a variety of dancers.
4. Can you throw some light on opportunities one gets as a dancer?
Every dancer has a choice to make. Whether they want to be artistic dancers or industry dancers. Because I personally feel to take up dance as a profession and become industry dancers or choreographers doesn't only require dancing but a lot more than that.
It requires professionalism, creativity, understanding of stage and set, punctuality, presentation and most importantly updating themselves.
Whereas to become an artistic dancer all you need is the love for dance and the satisfaction in your soul of being able to love what you do because there aren't any set standards.
As a dancer in the industry, you get to choose -
- If you want to become background dancers for movie songs, award shows, adds, and events.
- If you want to do musicals, sign contracts, and travel and see the world
- If you want to become a choreographer. It starts by assisting choreographers and learning your work which is not just dancing but understanding artists, sets, cameras, props, locations, and overall look and feel of the project.
- If you want to do reality shows and get established as individuals and do independent shows or teach maybe by doing workshops or opening up institutes.
5. Is format training required or can one train themselves purely on the basis of talent?
It is definitely better to learn under a teacher who can correct you when you are wrong and show you the right path and force you to reach your best. But we do have raw talents that shape themselves on their own too.
I feel it's just a slower process to realize what is it that we are doing wrong and then searching how to fix it and then fixing it.
6. What piece of advice would you like to give to future and aspiring artists?
It's very important to be clear in your head as to what kind of dancer do you want to be and what is it that you "don't want to do". Often when we aren't clear we waste important years of life doing everything that comes our way to realize we forgot what we wanted and it's too late to go back and start over.
Every artist should know that one thing that will make their soul happy and should only focus on achieving that.
7. Which is your favorite book and why?
My favorite book is "The Secret".
Every word of that book will fill you with the positivity you need to survive the worst of situations. And the book is true. I have tried it and seen results that make me love it even more.
- Juhi Arora
- Interviewed By: Lovely Makhija
Social