ABOUT
“Dreams can only become a reality when you wake up.”
Originally from Mumbai, India, Jainil Mehta, a 24 year old dancer & choreographer began his dance journey at the age of five, performing in his living room. Building short phrases with his house help at such an early age ignited a passion in him for dance composition, direction and performance. He is a former company dancer with Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company & is currently freelance teaching, creating and performing across the United States, predominantly New York City.
He was recently selected as a choreographer at the Playdate Residency, funded by National Endowment of the Arts. He has choreographed and designed 4 dance productions – Ctrl Alt Delete in 2023, DECODED in 2018, Alankar in 2017 & Chimera in 2015.
“Dreams can only become a reality when you wake up.”
Originally from Mumbai, India, Jainil Mehta, a 24 year old dancer & choreographer began his dance journey at the age of five, performing in his living room. Building short phrases with his house help at such an early age ignited a passion in him for dance composition, direction and performance. He is a former company dancer with Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company & is currently freelance teaching, creating and performing across the United States, predominantly New York City.
He was recently selected as a choreographer at the Playdate Residency, funded by National Endowment of the Arts. He has choreographed and designed 4 dance productions – Ctrl Alt Delete in 2023, DECODED in 2018, Alankar in 2017 & Chimera in 2015.
Jainil Mehta has a current following of more than 295k on Instagram, trending on #Meninskirts which breaks the barriers of gender categorizations. He has been featured on various national newspapers & pages like BBC News, Good morning America, India times, Brut India, Elle India, Hindustan Times, Official Humans of Bombay and Quint to name a few for his confidence and courage to break gender stereotypes, especially within the Indian community.
Before moving to Los Angeles for college, he trained at Shiamak Davar International in Mumbai, India for thirteen years. Jainil graduated Summa Cum Laude and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance with a Discovery Scholars Distinction, and has acquired a variety of skills including budgeting, accounting, entrepreneurship, stage lighting, tools for digital design, sound editing, motion picture cinematography and video editing, to name a few. He has learned and performed works by esteemed choreographers like William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Jodie Gates, Barak Marshall, Alejandro Cerrudo, Dwight Rhoden and Matthew Neenan.
Jainil has choreographed for Big Wild’s music video “6’s to 9’s” and Falguni Pathak’s “Jode Rahejo Raaj.” While also being a social media influencer, he has taught many dance classes online and in person across India as well as Pakistan, China, Singapore, United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and the United States to over 1000+ students.
Jainil wants to create the first-ever accredited higher education dance program in India through global exchange, interdisciplinary learning and partnerships. His goal is to give dancers, dance- makers and creators a chance to develop their own artistic choices and artmaking process, hence helping them create a unique identity and career for themselves. Jainil continues to grow and constantly pushes the bar of excellence with his strong focus and unparalleled passion.
“Dance is a process of learning, searching, conflicting, playing, connecting, projecting, criticizing & climbing.”
Jainil has choreographed for Big Wild’s music video “6’s to 9’s” and Falguni Pathak’s “Jode Rahejo Raaj.” While also being a social media influencer, he has taught many dance classes online and in person across India as well as Pakistan, China, Singapore, United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and the United States to over 1000+ students.
Jainil wants to create the first-ever accredited higher education dance program in India through global exchange, interdisciplinary learning and partnerships. His goal is to give dancers, dance- makers and creators a chance to develop their own artistic choices and artmaking process, hence helping them create a unique identity and career for themselves. Jainil continues to grow and constantly pushes the bar of excellence with his strong focus and unparalleled passion.
“Dance is a process of learning, searching, conflicting, playing, connecting, projecting, criticizing & climbing.”