How She Moves

Anya Raza

Director(s): Anya Raza & Aisha Linnea

How She Moves follows the spirited Indu Mitha, a 90-year-old dance teacher, as she prepares for her final dance performance. A minority in both religion and profession, Indu has been teaching the classical Bharatanatyam dance form in Pakistan for sixty years. Though traditionally associated with stories of Hindu deities, under her creative direction, the form has been given a secular and feminist flavor in Pakistan. As two women filmmakers, we were allowed rare access into an otherwise unseen world of women and dance in Pakistan. Through an exploration of the colorful artistry of Indu and her students, we glean insight into culture, identity, and freedom of expression in a country where extremism, nationalism, and suspicion of dance as a legitimate art form push the classical dance towards extinction.

We now unfortunately live in a time when Muslim and minority women’s views, lives, and bodies are a battleground in the so-called clash of civilizations. In a time when vitriol dominates and divides communities all over the world, How She Moves challenges these narratives by telling a universal story of hope and resilience.