About Karima Essa
A three-time Canadian National Dance champion, Karima Essa is Vancouver’s very own Bollywood star. An incredibly charismatic and passionate performer, choreographer and instructor, she has used her one-of-a-kind Bollywood talent to entertain diverse audiences at festivals, theatres and in schools across Canada. In 2014, her love for Bollywood took her to the screens in Mumbai, India, as a two-time finalist on Omni TV’s reality show, Bollywood Star. With style, grace and a flair for the dramatic, she has been captivating adult and young audiences for decades.​
Since age 4, Karima’s been gracing the stage in dance competitions, events and most recently on OMNI TV’s Bollywood Star reality show. When she hit puberty at 11, her body unwittingly became a blank canvas in which people could “paint” their admiration and adoration or their judgement and criticism. She grew up thinking she needed to be a “size zero” fuelled by the vanity of the Bollywood industry. However, she has finally grown to love her new, beautiful body.
Since first showcasing her Bollywood Star School show in schools in 2018, she has performed this show in 200 + schools. Karima’s new focus is on celebrating that all bodies can dance by bringing the Body Positivity movement to Bollywood Dance in schools and communities. Karima is also completing her Education Assistance certification and is interested in exploring how dance can help improve socio-emotional skills in children with autism or other special needs.
