Raina Peterson is a dancer-choreographer of Fiji-Indian and English heritage who was born and raised on the lands of the Gunaikurnai people of regional Victoria. Raina creates moving experimental dance works that respect and challenge both traditional and contemporary dance. With a substantial body of new work including four full-length company productions, Raina‘s works draw on their training in classical Indian dance (mohiniyattam) and are critically acclaimed for their subversive and visceral approach to exploring diasporic experience, cultural identity, colonialism, gender diversity and sexuality. With dance partner Govind Pillai, their full-length works include In Plain Sanskrit (2015), Bent Bollywood (2018), Third Nature (2019), Kāla (2019), and dance film Drishti (Winner of two Melbourne Fringe Awards, 2020), and two solo works: Narasimha: ManLion (2022, winner of Melbourne Fringe Award for ‘Best dance and physical theatre’) and Mohini (upcoming, March 2023 at Arts House for Frame Festival).
Image Credit: Kavita Peterson