A Dancer Is Featured in the New York Times' #ThisIs18

October 18, 2018

Just in case you missed it: To highlight last Thursday’s International Day of the Girl, The New York Times has launched a unique photographic and editorial project called #ThisIs18, all with the aim of spotlighting what life is really like for 18-year-old women around the world.

Here at DS, we were super-stoked to see that among the 21 young women prominently featured is Mahak Naiwal, a Kathak dancer from New Delhi, India.

Just how inspiring is Mahak? Firstly, we love that her personal heroine is her Kathak teacher Anu Sen. “I would like to study to become a teacher and would like to dance too, side by side,” Mahak told the Times. Dance is Mahak’s main passion, but according to the Times she also wants to play the guitar and learn to speak French. Yay for being a well-rounded artist!

You can see Mahak in dance class and hanging with friends (along with the 20 other #ThisIs18 subjects) in the below video, and read the full interactive story here.


#ThisIs18: What 18 Looks Like for Girls Around the World | NYT