Joya Kazi & Raja Kumari Call Out Cringeworthy Appropriation Of Indian Culture On Italy’s ‘Dancing With The Stars’
Hinduism has been misrepresented within western society for many years, mingling religion with the flair of Bollywood for the uninformed. The latest in a long list of problematic forms of representation and appropriation of Indian culture is a performance by, Italian actor, journalist, television and radio presenter Costantino della Gherardesca and his dance partner Sara Di Vaira on the latest episode of Italy’s ‘Dancing with the Stars.’
The duo gave a cringeworthy performance appropriating Indian culture on the dance reality show. They were dressed as Hindu Gods while doing what they claim was a samba to Beyonce’s ‘Crazy in Love.’ They threw in some Bollywood-ish hand gestures, Middle Eastern and Eastern-looking hand moves, and some flailing so-called bhangra steps that made a mockery of the dance forms. They set the stage with a Natraj statue and enormous CGI elephants. Gherardesca wore blue body paint and was as Lord Shiva while Vaira donned a micro mini lehenga. It is frustrating, to say the least, to constantly be misrepresented.
Dancer and choreographer Joya Kazi called out the performance and shared her outrage at the disrespectful performance and appropriation of Indian culture on social media. Recording artist Raja Kumari, expressing the same sentiments added a post with the tag “my culture is not a costume.” Their outrage is valid and many other South Asian fans also displayed their anger on social media.
The power of social media allowed the voices of Kumari and Kazi to be heard and Gheradesca released a formal apology for his performance. He states he was not aware and did not intend to hurt the sentiments of others and even joked that he’s a horrible dancer. Kazi also shared a follow-up post stating that she spoke with Gherdasca directly and educated him on why his performance was disrespectful. He was open to the discussion and his apology shows an understanding of the implications of his actions and remorse. Kazi initiated a positive dialogue that led to change and knowledge of how to prevent these actions in the future.
As they say, knowledge is power.
