@DancingReena // Reena Shah

Reena continues to perform & teach
Interactive Indian Dance Workshops for all ages at Museums, Cultural
Events, Universities, Music + Film Festivals throughout the country
& worldwide. She specializes in the Bharata Natyam, Garba + Raas,
Bhangra, & Bollywood Dance Styles and also combining these styles
with American Dance Movement. She is excited to share her love of dance
with the world.
Reena tours with DJ Rekha as a Dancer &
Bhangra Dance Instructor and has performed with her at Central Park
Summerstage, S.O.B.’s, Brooklyn Museum, Queens Museum of Art,
Hammerstein Ballroom, the 2009 Wakarusa Music Festival, & the 2010
Sundance Film Festival. Reena was a Principal Dancer in
Noemie LaFrance’s AGORA II, a site-specific dance project inside the
abandoned McCarren Park Pool in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 
Reena Shah made history
on July 8th, 2010 at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts at
Midsummer Night Swing where she taught the Bhangra Dance Lesson to a
crowd of 2,500+ people. Reena along with DJ Rekha and Sunny Jain's Red
Baraat brought Bhangra Dance + Music to this Event for the 1st time in
22 years.
Reena
is most recognized for her work in Guggenheim Fellowship Recipient,
Nina Paley’s Award Winning Animated Feature Film, Sita Sings the Blues,
where she was the speaking voice of Sita as well as singer +
choreographer + rotoscoped dancer of the song "Agni Pariksha" from the
film. Her Husband, musician/singer/producer Todd Michaelsen, composed
the music score & original songs for the film.

Reena had the
opportunity to be a Cultural Ambassador through the US Embassy in Peru
and represent Sita Sings The Blues. She taught Master Classes in Indian
Dance for 2 weeks throughout Peru during the American Film Institute's
Project 20/20 Tour which included 4 cities: Lima, Cusco, Puerto
Maldonado, & Tarapoto. It was a true cross-cultural experience for
Reena and the local communities involved.

 
During the pandemic, Reena was featured
on Saturday Night Live in a variety of sketches as part of their
Pre-Tape Film Unit. You can catch her in the I Love NY - PSA Sketch with
Kate McKinnon. And her bootie in Jeans was used in the Ass Angels Jeans
Sketch with Adele & Maya Rudolph.

Reena can be seen as Cooking Class Student Norma in the HBO Max Series Julia about Julia Child. has appeared with Conan in a comedic Bollywood Skit on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien." She has also appeared in comedy sketches on “The Daily Show” and has choreographed for Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report.
Reena was the Assistant Choreographer & a Dancer in the Universal
Pictures Feature, THE GURU, where she taught Bollywood Dancing to Marisa
Tomei, Heather Graham, Jimi Mistry, & Michael McKean. Reena was
also the Photo Double/Body Double of Divya (Reshma Shetty) on Season 8
of Royal Pains. She has also appeared in National Commercials for
Delta Air Lines & Walgreens. And she was the Voice of Toyota's Dear Digital Nomads Commercial Campaign. 
Reena's film credits include indie hits such as American Chai, Stay Until
Tomorrow, & India Sweets & Spices, & ASHES, directed/co-written/starring Ajay Naidu
(Office Space). She has also appeared in Spike Lee's Inside Man. She narrated Tami Yeager’s PBS
‘Independent Lens’ Documentary, A Dream In Doubt.

On Stage, Reena has portrayed real life gang rape
victim, Mukhtaran Mai, in the production of Seven - Journeys, written by
Susan Yankowitz and directed by Obie Award winner Evan Yionoulis for
Culture Project & La Mama ETC. in New York City. Overseas, she
performed in special performances of SEVEN in Deauville, France and
London, England. Additional Stage Credits include Suzan-Lori Parks’ 365
Days/365 Plays (The Public Theater/Desipina), Nandita Shenoy’s Marrying Nandini (Green
Light), along with notable staged readings at The Lark Theater Company,
Workshop Theater Company, and Desipina & Company.

Reena performs with her husband, musician/composer/singer Todd Michaelsen.
Their song, Moonshine, was licensed to Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine for
their 1st National Television Commercial on the Discovery Channel.


Reena graduated from the Padmini Institute of Fine
Arts, where she studied Bharata Natyam, an Indian Classical Dance Form,
under The Late Guru Padmini Ramachandran, a renowned Indian Actress
& Dancer. Reena holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication
Studies with a Concentration in Mass Media & Society from New York
University. She is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, AFTRA, &
ACTORS' EQUITY.