Conversations with Adarsh Satish

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adarsh Satish.

Hi Adarsh, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started dancing when I was 14 years old when I discovered Michael Jackson videos on youtube during the time of his passing. I instantaneously fell in love with his dance steps and music videos. From watching his videos, I got inspired to start being creative and expressing myself in a whole new way through dance. Prior I was very interested in sports and basketball, but Dance and Video Production brought out a whole new expressive and creative side to me. I was enrolled in a Video Production class at my middle school, and there is a Video Show called the “Friday Show” that we make every week that gets played to the entire school during “access” or homework period. It was a compilation of skits and segments that students in the class would make to showcase their work. I made a Michael Jackson Tribute Video for “Michael Jackson day” we had in my school, and the whole school loved it! I was getting high praise for it. That’s when I knew I had a passion for art.

I started trying to learn all of MJ’s moves, thinking of video ideas for dance concepts and dancing every day. The whole school knew I was obsessed with the man. That’s when I met my friend Nathan, who is also a dancer, but he danced way differently than me. He was on a crew that did a Bay Area dance style called “Turfing” that I eventually joined and learned from. We danced every single lunch period and made thousands of videos.

From there I got into doing choreography and joined the school’s dance program. That’s when I fell in love with the stage. I put on some amazing choreography pieces in our school’s annual Winter and Spring Dance Shows that people all over the school would come and watch. Everyone loved my pieces and would stop me in the hallways at school to compliment and praise me. I wanted to continue this momentum, but I thought dancing would be done for me as soon as I entered college, but the exact opposite happened.

I joined a “Raas/Garba” Indian Dance Team at my College, UC Riverside, and eventually joined the Competitive Hip Hop Team afterward. I loved pushing my dancing to the next level. Being around so many strong dancers in a new environment was definitely daunting but I loved the challenge. Me being really competitive from my basketball/sports background drove me to always improve myself.

I knew I couldn’t let go of dance. I was too passionate about it. I was training in LA every weekend. I was meeting new people, getting new opportunities to work in music videos and I was getting paid to perform. I couldn’t let go of all the things that I loved to work a 9-5 job. When I moved back to the Bay after college, I felt like I wasn’t fulfilling my purpose. I wanted more. I wanted to make a difference and live out my passion to the very end. The thought of letting go of it was gut-wrenching.

I made a decision that I was going to pursue my career in the entertainment industry, and with the reluctant help of my parents, I enrolled in film school in Los Angeles and finally made the move down here. Since then I have worked with Netflix, Disneyland, and the Forum Arena and have danced in dozens of music videos with big artists.

I am ready for the new road ahead and all the exciting new chapters that are unfolding in front of me. One step at a time will get me to where I want to be. Keep applying pressure and keeping being surrounded by good people and good energy that will drive me to my dreams.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. Just as in any artistic field, the pressure of needing to be perfect and having the best product is always persistent. The struggles of earning a livable wage on top of the physical and mental pressure that your body goes through in order to keep up with the field is hard for anybody. In this field, you are constantly questioning if this was the right move. It takes strong mental toughness to want to get up and do something over and over and over again for pennies, hoping for one day it will all work out. It is a struggle to be in Los Angeles, and pursuing this career as well. It is a pool that is deeply saturated with talent and people wanting the same things as you, so it is hard to stand out and it’s also hard to know who is helping you to win and who is secretly wanting you to lose.

I try to keep my head up however. Sure there is a lot of people who want the same things as me, but none of them are me, and everyone’s journey is different, so I try to focus on my own path and know that the timing of when it will all work out will happen when it needs to. Until then I will keep training, creating, and loving others in the best way I can.

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?
I am a dancer and film director. My goal is to build a production company that produces films centered around dance and genres like love, horror, social justice, and drama. My favorite thing to create are videos based on my own life experiences and based on movies/shows.

My dance style is mainly hip hop that I fuse with other styles like Bollywood and Latin Dance. Right now I am teaching classes in Bollyhop which is a Bollywood and Hip Hop fusion art form. I have been dancing Hip Hop for 12 years. Bollywood for 6 years and Latin Dance for 1 year. My goal with all these art forms is to develop my own style and start creating music videos and concepts that tell really meaningful and impactful stories.

I create yearly Halloween Dance Concept Videos that I based off of Movies I’ve watched. This year I did one based off of the show Stranger Things. Years prior I’ve done these videos based off movies like IT, the Grudge, and Joker and Harley Quinn. I’m known for making long-form music video-type content. People love watching the Halloween videos and I make it a yearly tradition every Halloween to post one. These videos are what I am most proud of because how much thought I put into it and it gives me a chance to share my wild creativity with the world. I was so inspired from watching Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller” that I wanted to create amazing concepts like that myself. I’ve been dreaming of concept videos ever since I started dancing, and I’m so happy I’m in LA being able to do that!

I can choreograph and direct for artists, films, and plays. What sets me apart from others is my style of dance and how I combine it to different genres of music. People will recognize my sharp and quick movement that I combine with Bollywood music as something that’s very unique to me. People will see me tutting and creating all types of shapes and patterns in hip hop that I connect back to the “filminess” and the high energy of Bollywood.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Believe in yourself! No matter how crazy your ideas are, what people say, or how much talent you have or don’t have, you have to believe that you are amazing and can achieve anything you set your mind to. There is no opportunity or goal out of reach for you, the world is a place of infinite possibilities. You got to put your head down and work on it. If you want to dance on tour for a big artist. Learn about that artist and the dancers they hire. Take class from their choreographer, make connections, and STUDY STUDY STUDY and Train as hard as you can! Train your mind and your body. Read books and learn new things outside of your creative field as well and eat good food that keeps you moving and energized throughout your day. This industry is not for the ones who give up easily, you need to have the mental push to want to continue even when you don’t feel like it because that’s what sets apart the ones who really make it out in the industry and achieve their goals and the ones who don’t.

Be yourself and seek advice from only people you trust. A lot of different obstacles and people can side-track you from your goal and your values, make sure every decision you make is one that will help you succeed to what you are working towards not just in your career but also in your life. Treat everyone with respect and kindness. Everyone is equally deserving of love no matter who they are, and I promise you good people who put love back into the world will succeed and win even if it isn’t always the flashiest thing to do. No opportunity, no gig, or performance is greater than your self-worth. Know that no matter how much you achieve or don’t achieve, you have value for just being you, and no one can take that away.

Always stay humble, never stop learning, and be grateful for every step of the process. It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey, and the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. It might be slow at first, but as you progress you will start seeing doors open and blessings will rain down on you when the time is right!

Pricing:

• $45- Private Online 1 on 1 Class
• $60- Private In Person 1 on 1 Class
• $20- Group Workshop Class

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adarshable/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adarsh.satish/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Adarshable
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr5Kp2qGFnE8MyRECKWKk3A

Image Credits
Festival of Holidays Picture Credit: Andrew Kim Instagram: @kimcheeforlife Joker Picture: Darrien Henning Instagram: @darrienhenning @7aspectzmedia Telephone Picture: Brandon Esparza Instagram: @brandonesparza Yellow Dress Picture: Carmen Veronica Instagram: @thestudiocv Blue Ghost Picture: Fahria Akhand-Mansoor Instagram: @fahria03 @f.j_studios