Fringe show blows lid off Western yoga culture
This August, actress, figure skater, professional dancer, and yoga professor, Mayuri Bhandari brings her award-winning show The Anti ‘Yogi’ to The Edinburgh Fringe. With Kali, the Goddess of Death by her side, she shines a light on the absurdities of Western Yoga culture and exposes the lycra and leggings nonsense.
Are you worthy of the Goddess’s blessings? Or her wrath?
The Anti ‘Yogi’ takes a critical look at cultural appropriation, commodification and colonisation in Western yoga By amplifying the South Asian voice and using dance, drama, comedy, poetry and live percussion by renowned musician Neel Agrawal, the show peels back the mat to smash the image of a “yogi” as a skinny woman in Lululemon, showing it to be someone who renounces worldly life in pursuit of truth.
The Anti ‘Yogi’ comes hot from a sold out run and six award nominations at The Hollywood Fringe Festival where it was the winner of the FRINGE AWARD FOR DANCE AND PHYSICAL THEATRE and also awarded the ZEPHYR’S ZEST AWARD. It is directed by: D'Lo and Shyamala Moorty, with Syona Varty and Rena Patel joining as producers for the Edinburgh run. The choreographer /dramaturg is Shyamala Moorty with live percussion performed by Neel Agrawal.
Mayuri Bhandari is an actress, dancer, storyteller, and yoga professor. She has received international recognition for her work on the stage, screen, and ice in Bollywood and Hollywood. Bhandari is featured on numerous television shows including Dare 2 Dance with Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, and Hrithik Roshan and starred in Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix), Hacks (HBO), and Dave (FX/Hulu).
Her voice-over includes Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony), Ms. Marvel (Disney), and Shantaram (Apple). Bhandari’s art-ivism voices women's empowerment, cultural identity, indigenous rights, and environmental justice. She is the first South Asian to showcase figure skating on Indian national television. Bhandari is currently an adjunct professor in Yoga and Bollywood Dance at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. TikTok: @mayuribhandariofficial IG: @theantiyogishow
Shyamala Moorty is an award-winning director, choreographer, dramaturg and heArt-avist whose work in theater, dance, and short film has been acclaimed internationally. Described as a “tour de force” by the LA Times, she has worked as a Core Artist with TeAda Productions, as a founding member of the Post Natyam Collective, and as a principal dancer for the AMAN International Dance and Music Ensemble. She teaches at California State Long Beach and is a performance doula. www.shyamalamoorty.com
D’Lo is a queer/trans Ilangai Tamil-American actor, writer, and comic. His solo show To T, or not To T, has toured festivals internationally. D’Lo’s work has been featured in NPR’s CodeSwitch, LA iTimes, The Guardian, NBC, CNN, and The Advocate. He starred in TV/film including Look,Transparent, Sense8, Mr. Robot, Connecting, Quantum Leap, and Billy Eichner’s “Bros”. D’Lo is a Senior Civic Media Fellow through USC's Annenberg Innovation Lab supported by the MacArthur Foundation. http://dlocokid.com
Neel Agrawal is a percussionist performing with leading musicians including L. Shankar, Lord Huron, and Young the Giant. His groundbreaking arts, education, and justice work has received generous support from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the U.S. State Department, the Center for Cultural Innovation, and Harvard University. He currently serves as Director of Percussion at the Los Angeles International Music and Arts Academy. https://www.neelagrawal.com/
Rena Patel is a South Asian American writer and producer based in Los Angeles. Her work spans film, TV, and theater, including Peacock's The Warehouse Phase and the play Pyar Aur Coffee, a finalist in the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival. She’s part of the creative team at Bootleg Universe/Shankar Animation and served as Executive Director of Imaginarium Theatre Company, producing new works at venues like The Tank. Her storytelling centers on inclusion, identity, and innovation. rena-patel.com
THE ANTI YOGI plays at Jade Studio at Greenside @ George Street from 1 - 24 August at 12.40hrs. For more information and for tickets click here https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/the-anti-yogi