Reena performs & teaches Interactive Indian Dance Workshops for all ages. She specializes in the dance styles of Bharata Natyam, Garba + Raas, Bhangra, & Bollywood. Touring highlights include events with DJ Rekha, Sunny Jain, & Red Baraat at the White House Easter Egg Roll, Central Park Summerstage, Basement Bhangra at S.O.B.s, The Brooklyn Museum, The Queens Museum of Art, Hammerstein Ballroom, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Philadelphia Museum, Wakarusa Music Festival, & the Sundance Film Festival.
Reena was the Assistant Choreographer & a Dancer in the Universal Pictures Feature, The Guru, where she taught Bollywood Dancing to Marisa Tomei, Heather Graham, Jimi Mistry, & Michael McKean. Reena was a Principal Dancer in Noemie LaFrance’s site-specific dance project, AGORA II, inside the abandoned McCarren Park Pool in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Reena's solo dance work was also accepted into Chashama's Oasis Dance Festival and she has been featured in music videos for the Sugababes & Electric Kulintang's Cotabato City.
Reena had the opportunity to be a Cultural Ambassador through the US Embassy in Peru to represent Sita Sings The Blues & teach Master Classes in Indian Dance for 2 weeks throughout Peru during the American Film Institute's Project 20/20 Tour which included 4 cities: Lima, Cusco, Puerto Maldonado, & Tarapoto. It was a true cross-cultural experience for Reena and the local communities involved.
Reena has also performed & toured with her husband, composer/singer/songwriter Todd Michaelsen in their rock band My Pet Dragon. MPD enjoyed performances on the North American music festival circuit which included: Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the US Cellular One Stage with MUTEMATH & The Walkmen, the inaugural Catalpa NYC Festival on Randall's Island with the Black Keys and TV on the Radio, the KahBang Festival in Bangor, Maine with the Deftones, & Dr. Dog and the Breckenridge Beer Festival in Colorado, Alive@Five in Stamford, Connecticut, Pittsburgh Pridefest with Melissa Etheridge -- and NXNE in Toronto. A special duet called “Airborne” can be heard in the feature film, Then Came You. And their song “Moonshine” can also be heard in the film and was used in the first National Commercial for Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine.