The Anti "YOGI" at zephyr theatre

Actress, Figure Skater, Professional Dancer and Yoga Professor, Mayuri Bhandari blends her unique experience as an Indian navigating traditionally non-Indian spaces in the world premiere of The Anti “Yogi” which opens June 8th at Hollywood Fringe Festival 2024 at the Zephyr Theatre. Performances are on June 8, 2024, 4:45 PM, Sunday, June 16, 6:30 PM, and Thursday June 20 2024, 7:00 PM. 

A “yogi” is not a skinny woman in Lululemon, but someone who renounces worldly life in pursuit of truth. Embark on a journey with Mayuri and the Goddess of Death, Kali, as they investigate absurdities of Western Yoga culture. As a yoga professor, Mayuri finds herself in a twisty identity crisis as she navigates teaching a practice that’s supposed to be her “thing”. What can her purpose be beyond educating people about yoga? Will the formidable Goddess Kali clear her path? Through a unique blend of dance, dramedy, poetry, The Anti “Yogi” gives a much needed voice to Yoga, calling out its recolonization in the West and nationalization in the East. This show peels back the yoga mat to reveal the true ethos of Yoga.

Mayuri Bhandari made history as the first South Asian figure skater to showcase figure skating on Indian National Television and is a National figure skating champion.  She infuses Bollywood into the sport with her “Bollywood On Ice” YouTube channel, where she has 55,000 subscribers, Yoga comedy and skating Tik Tok with 20,000 subscribers.

Her short film BINDI received recognition at film festivals in Athens, Berlin, Seattle, and Los Angeles. Mayuri's work was recently featured at the United Nations Women's Event in Los Angeles. She has appeared in popular Indian TV shows like "Dare 2 Dance" and has worked with Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, and Hrithik Roshan. 

She has starred in film and television shows such as Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix), Dave (FX/Hulu), Rebel (ABC), Nightingale (Prime), 911: Lone Star (FOX), and Dare 2 Dance/Just Dance (Star Plus). Her voiceover work includes Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony), Ms. Marvel (Disney), Shantaram (Apple), Netflix, and many audiobooks (Penguin Random House). She has also done several theater productions- starring as the lead in Clown Bar at the Hudson Theater and AA Sketch at the Ruskin Theater Co. in Los Angeles. She is a professor in Yoga and Dance at Loyola Marymount University.