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the director

Kazi's career path presented a conundrum in line with Hollywood's own struggle to make space for South Asians and their art. Gigs that would have made perfect sense for her — like that entire list of attempted Bollywood numbers on American TV — fell into less qualified hands when Kazi's name should have been at the top of the pile... The Bollywood dance scene in 'Never Have I Ever' is a Hollywood Milestone!
Someone finally got it right!”

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dancer

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choreographer

educator

ABOUT JOYA NANDY KAZI

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Joya is a Telly Award Winning, World Choreography Award Nominated, and Universal Dance Award Nominated multi-hyphenated artist. A choreographer, actress, dancer, educator and entrepreneur having founded her company at just sixteen years old, her work has earned her a spot on the DissDash list of Coolest South Asians and Joya is featured on a public mural at the Artesia Library of Los Angeles County representing the city's South Asian influence of art & culture. She is a member of the Emmys/Television Academy, has served on the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) Awards Nominating Committee and has also served on countless judging panels including at the World Choreography Awards. Behind the camera, she represents and casts the finest South Asian dance talent and consults on productions from stage to screen worldwide.

Joya's credits span Hollywood to Bollywood and include Mindy Kaling's 'Netflix Never Have I Ever', Disney, Dreamworks, FOX 'New Girl', International Indian Film Academy Awards, Grammys, DJ Snake, The Strokes, and Raja Kumari. She was Top 8 on Reality TV show "Dance Plus", has trained actors like India's Jaqueline Fernandez, Disney's Avantika Vandanapu, and has performed with Bollywood stars, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Madhuri Dixit, Hrithik Roshan, Ranveer Singh and Siddharth Malhotra. 

achiEvements

EMMYS/Television Academy Member 2022

World Choreography Award Nominee 2021

SAG Awards Nominating Committee 2021

Telly Award Winner 2021

Mashable Best of 2020 Onscreen Moments

World Choreography Awards Judge 2020

Netflix's Women's Leadership Forum 2020

Top 50 Coolest South Asians of 2019

Universal Dance Award Nominee 2019

Leela Institute for the Arts Fellow

NYU Tisch Scholarship for Performing Arts

Industry Essentials Certificate Program

Commendation from City of Milpitas for “Unique & unparalleled contributions of Dance Arts to the Community” 

Commendation from City of Covina   Mayor, Kevin Stapleton 

Commendation from City of Artesia Mayor, Ali Sajjad Taj 

Founder of UC Davis’s first Hindi Film Dance Team, Toofan 

Two-time national title winner of Best   Female Dancer & named one of the best HFD Leads of All Time

Joya was born in Mumbai, raised in the Bay Area where she began professionally dancing at the age of eight, and moved to LA in 2012 to continue her professional career in dance & choreography after studying Theatre & Dance with an Emphasis in Choreography & Production Management with a double major in Political Science and a minor in Managerial Economics at UC Davis. A student of Indian Classical Dances for 30+ years, she has come to be known for her ability to bridge the gap between Indian Classical and Commercial dance styles without sacrificing authenticity or quality. Her dance training includes Kathak, Bharatnatyam, and Odissi with training under the classical world’s most prestigious Gurus, Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Pandit Birju Maharaj, and Guru Bandana Sen. Aside from Indian Classical dances, she has studied Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Contemporary, Hip-Hop and Salsa.

 

With 20+ years of teaching experience, she is the first to bring South Asian dance to the Commercial Dance Program at the Orange County School for Arts. Joya has instructed workshops at Stanford, FIDM, and has taught her sold out Master Classes internationally.  While in college, Joya founded Toofan, UC Davis’s very first competitive Hindi Film Dance Team, in 2006. She has since been quoted to be one of the “top collegiate Bollywood Hindi Film Dance Leads of all time” and “the UC Davis lead who stole hearts” as a two time “Best Female Dancer” winner.

Joya produced Shake Dance Tour in 2014, the first touring dance convention promoting World Dance Education, which received Commendation from the City of Milpitas for “unique and unparalleled contributions of Dance Arts to the community”. She was awarded The Leela Institute for the Arts Fellowship for promising artists, teachers, and cultural ambassadors to aid in placing quality arts educational programming in classrooms, a first for any dancer in the commercial entertainment industry.

Joya has pushed the envelope as a young female entrepreneur in the arts with authenticity and integrity. Her efforts to foster the art of dance is unique and unparalleled in how she is connecting communities and hearts through dance. As an advocate for cultural representation, accessibility to arts, and bringing dance to local and international spaces, Joya is exceptional and has my full support."

- Ali Sajjad Taj, Mayor of Artesia

credits

SELECT CREDITS

COMMERCIALS &

BRANDS

Google

Wow Skin Science

Disney Channel

Hyundai

Walmart

Radio Shack

Truly

Human Nation

The house of LR&C

Mio mora

Phenomenal

Monday

CELEB CREDITS

Madhuri Dixit 

Hrithik Roshan 

Priyanka Chopra Jonas

Jacqueline Fernandez

Siddharth Malhotra

Ranveer Singh

Amrita Rao

Allu Arjun

Shakti Mohan

Nina Davuluri

A.R. Rahman

Benny Dayal

Raja Kumari

Bohemia

Gippy Grewal

Dave Franco

Nick Cannon

Rob Gronkowski

Julio Jones

Antonio Brown

Colin Kaepernick

Coach Rex Ryan

Christopher Plasses

FILM/TV

Netflix/Mindy Kaling's "Never Have I Ever"

Madhuri Dixit's "Dance Deewane ColorsTV"

Star Plus TV - "Dance Plus" Season 3 - TOP 8

FOX “New Girl”

Na Peru Surya Naa Illa India - Tollywood Feature

“Madden Season 16” NFL

"Germany’s Next Top Model"

"Dance India Dance" Choreographer

“I am Singh" Bollywood Feature Film

“Aguruphobia”

STAGE & INDUSTRIALS

"Rhythm India" at Redlands Bowl

Disney “Festival of Holidays”

International Indian Film Academy  Awards

NBA India Games 2019

Grammys Official After Party

Raja Kumari LIVE, Black Eyed Peas opener

Disney “Blizzard”

“Mystic India” World Tour

“Bollydoll” - Pre Broadway

SPOTLIGHT

ON SCREEN

TV | FILM | COMMERCIAL | MUSIC VIDEO

#kaziography

DANCES BY JOYA KAZI

NBA & NFL

CHOREOGRAPHY BY JOYA KAZI

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The Artesia Public Library was unveiled in 2016 and showcases a beautiful mural featuring Joya Kazi as a representative of South Asian art & culture.

GALLERY

Sunny Manucha Photography

Sunny Manucha Photography

Rutvik Katuri

Rutvik Katuri

Swati Photography

Swati Photography

Photo by Sunthar Premakumar

Photo by Sunthar Premakumar

Swati Photography

Swati Photography

Betsy Newman Photography

Betsy Newman Photography

Betsy Newman Photography

Betsy Newman Photography

Rutvik Katuri

Rutvik Katuri

Rutvik Katuri

Rutvik Katuri

Sunthar Premakumar Photography

Sunthar Premakumar Photography

Photo by Sunthar Premakumar

Photo by Sunthar Premakumar

Betsy Newman Photography

Betsy Newman Photography

Sunny Manucha Photography

Sunny Manucha Photography

Photo by Sunthar Premakumar

Photo by Sunthar Premakumar

Sunny Manucha Photography

Sunny Manucha Photography

Photo by Sunthar Premakumar

Photo by Sunthar Premakumar

Sunny Manucha Photography

Sunny Manucha Photography

Photo by Sunthar Premakumar

Photo by Sunthar Premakumar

On set for "Dil Le Chala"

On set for "Dil Le Chala"

On set for "Dil Le Chala"

On set for "Dil Le Chala"

Photo by Sunthar Premakumar

Photo by Sunthar Premakumar

Asian Media USA

Asian Media USA

On set for "Dil Le Chala"

On set for "Dil Le Chala"

Photo by Sunthar Premakumar

Photo by Sunthar Premakumar

India West Newspaper

India West Newspaper

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