Recently, a video showing Mumbai choreographer Jainil Mehta dancing on a street in New York dressed in a ghaghra won the hearts of social media users. He chose the massively popular Saami Saami song from the movie Pushpa: The Rise for his act. For Mehta and his ilk, dance is more than performance; it’s a form of expression. He elaborates, “Dance is an added language that requires no words to communicate. And, people relate to what I’m saying through it.” In performing artiste Abhijeet Mudgerikar’s (better known as Moodzi) case, dance offered the freedom to first explore, then express and continue understanding identity. “Learning dance and understanding my sexuality happened simultaneously. Through movement, I was able to understand myself and my body better,” Moodzi says. Dancing also helped choreographer and performer Kian Gupta express confidence that revealed itself on the dance floor. He says, “Most people know me for my confidence and sass in dance, though I was shy while growing up.”

However, heteronormative thinking around dance are still prevalent — dance is perceived as a feminine art form, and men making it their hobby, field of education or career is thought to go against the definition of masculinity. These artistes are standing up against cisnormative thinking not just through movement, but also through the dance styles they choose to  communicate in. Mehta, who is also a dance teacher and influencer, saw his act trend under the hashtag #meninskirts. The videos are beautiful, energetic, and filled with flair in movement exuded from his smiling face. Dance, he says, helped him showcase his true personality, embrace social media to celebrate and share his art form, and coin his own style. He says, “People message me to share that they have changed their perception of who can wear what, and are inspired by my videos to explore freedom in expression.”