AMIT PATEL
Amit Patel, a native of Fremont, CA, is a dancer, choreographer, teacher and creative director living in the San Francisco Bay Area (unceded lands of the Ohlone people).
As a first-generation born Indian-American, he strives to fuse his cultures; he combined his Indian culture and Western training to explore a style of dance called "Indian Contemporary." Amit is more notable, however, for his rebellious pieces in heels, known as "Bollywood Heels," which challenge the norms of sexual identity and gender expression in dance.
He has also taught and performed internationally, for the Nordic largest Indian Dance Festival in Tampere, Finland; as well as in England, Spain, France, Greece, Canada and India; teaching and performing both Bollywood Heels and Indian Contemporary.
His dance training consists of jazz, ballet, Bollywood/Indian Fusion, and extensive training in contemporary and modern dance.
His professional stage experience includes 10+ years as a dancer, choreographer, and teacher at the Mona Khan Company, a Bollywood fusion company, 6+ years with Bliss Dance Company, a modern dance company, and a performance season with Pietre Dance Theater in Los Angeles.
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, his work in creatign his brand of Bollywood Heels is rooted in explosing communities to different types of queerness and deconstructing gender roles and identiy in the arts.
Notable performance credits include the Indiaspora Inaugural Ball in Washington D.C., honoring President Obama, making it to the Top 48 in America's Got Talent, the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival; and a performance shoot for the international Emmy award-winning show "India" on the Spanish T.V. network, Univision.
His goal as an artist is to create work and community that has the potential to unite, inspire, and empower people across generations and cultures.