Today we’d like to introduce you to Renu Gupta Kumar.
Hi Renu, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Renu Kumar is a highly accomplished dancer and dance teacher from India who has been living in, Minneapolis/St.Paul, Minnesota, United States of America,
33 years. She has been teaching, performing, and producing dance shows both locally and internationally for over 30 years. She started her own dance school in 2004 where she has trained hundreds of students and created hundreds of new innovative works.
She also independently produces original Bollywood dance dramas in Minnesota that raise funds for local and international charities. She views dance as a form of yoga and is committed to giving back to her community through annual charity shows. She uses her passion to help others as much as she can. She has helped several nonprofit orgs with fundraising and cultural events. She has been honored with several awards for her performances, innovative directing, and choreography, and her work has been recognized by local and Asian media outlets. She has also served as an honorary judge for various dance competitions.
We all face challenges but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I have greatly enjoyed my journey in this profession, but I have faced several challenges. It has been difficult to manage all aspects of running an organization on my own. I do have a network of volunteers and family members who help me during our annual shows which I am very grateful for. Running this academy needs staff for basic office work, handling financial records, marketing, and grant writing.
As we have kept tuition costs low to make our classes accessible, it has been difficult to hire needed staff, and the lack of proper staff has made me miss many opportunities. We would be thrilled to be in a standalone studio–ours is currently being run from the basement of my home. With more resources, the academy could grow and serve the community much more.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Renu Kumar is a multi-talented artist who specializes in Modern Indian/Bollywood/Folk dancing. She has been working as a master teacher and performer in the United States for over three decades. Renu is originally from India and has extensive training in Classical North Indian Kathak (storytelling), Folk, Bollywood, Modern dance, and Music (playing sitar and dholak etc). She has a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and a Master’s in Political Science. She is also trained in various other art forms such as painting, graphic design, computer animation, and photography, which she utilizes in her work as an Artistic Director.
Renu is passionate about dance and sees it as a primary medium of artistic discourse. She has a strong passion to teach children, adults, and seniors about Indian culture through dance, yoga, and art. She also creates and writes original stories for her Academy’s annual benefit dance dramas that focus on social and environmental issues that arise in the day-to-day life of ordinary people. She also organizes annual benefit shows to raise funds for different local and international charity organizations. Her life motto is “Love, Dance, Dream, Laugh, Pray, and Help.”
How do you define success?
Success for me is…
- Creating and presenting high-quality, innovative, original dance works
- Attracting and retaining a diverse group of students at the dance academy
- Providing a positive and supportive learning environment for students
- Growing the dance academy and increasing its visibility and reputation
- Seeing the final product of art, story, creation, and dances unfold on stage.
- Being recognized and respected in the dance community
- Achieving financial stability and profitability for the dance academy
- Being able to take on new challenges and opportunities in the dance field.
In addition to the markers of success mentioned previously, success for me also seeing student
- progress and develop their dance skills, performing arts and theater techniques, and creativity
- overcome shyness, lack of confidence, and stage fright
- gain a sense of joy, fulfillment, and passion for dance
- perform on a professional stage full of joy and confidence
- develop a strong understanding and appreciation for the performing arts and theater
- giving back to the community through performing arts.
- pursue further education or career opportunities in the performing arts
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rgkdance.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rgkdancebollywood/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RENUKUMAR.RGKDANCE/?ref=mf
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renu-kumar-5697b1b/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/rgkdanceacademy
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/rgkdance/featured
Image Credits
Hashtag Photographer: www.Hashtagsphotogrphy.com, Esmail Harunany, Plymouth Magazine, Vipin Kumar, MN Twins Target, Rajib Bahar, and Chaitanya Polumetla
