Kahlia Greksa: Dancing with the Movie and Music Stars
Australia’s Kahlia Greksa has performed alongside the biggest stars in the world. Whether it’s Leonardo DiCaprio (in the Oscar-winning The Great Gatsby), with Hugh Jackman at the Helpmann awards, in Dhoom 3 with Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, or the iconic Olivia Newtown-John at the Australian Oscars (AACTA awards), Greksa has become known as one of Australia’s dance gifts to the world. Dancers have a fluid nature to their career that few other creative professionals possess. This has allowed Kahlia to take the opportunity to perform in film, on the live theater stage, on TV, and music videos in a seemingly endless variety of projects. This twin sister of Serbian and Australian parents knows quite well about playing to the strengths that come from her own uniqueness. Studying dance since the age of three, Kahlia is one of those rare people who have manifested a childhood dream into a globally acclaimed career.
To vet Greksa’s esteem among the entertainment community, one need look no further than her featured performances in director/writer/producer Baz Luhrmann’s cinematic presentation of The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Winner of Oscars for Best Production Design and Best Costume Design at the 86th Academy Awards and a cumulative worldwide gross of more than 353,000,000; the film was an immense critical and commercial success. Displaying the excess and lavishness of the Upper East Coast United States in the 1920’s before the stock market crash is key to the story; Luhrmann’s painstaking detail to Gatsby’s parties materializes this for the film. Baz Luhrmann personally cast Kahlia Greksa as the lead dancer in the film and wrote three separate three-minute leading dance scenes for Kahlia. In scenes with Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, and Tobey Maguire, Kahlia grounds the hyperbolic reality with her sublime performances.
Bollywood fans know Kahlia from her tap dance performance in the film Dhoom 3 featuring Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan. The story of a circus performer who attempts to right the wrong done to his father by a corrupt Chicago bank, Dhoom 3 was noted for its first time ever in a Bollywood film massive opening tap dance routine. Greksa’s tap dance performance makes her part of Bollywood history. Screened during the 2014 international film festival of India in the Celebrating dance in Indian cinema section, Dhoom 3 was an enormous commercial hit which grossed fifty-eight million dollars worldwide in ten days to become the eleventh highest-grossing Indian film of all time. Kahlia concedes that the fifteen-hour flight to India was taxing but working with legendary tap choreographer Dein Perry on a film recognized with eighteen awards was well worth it.
In the music video for “You Ruin Me” by Brisbane pop duo The Veronicas, Kahlia appears as a ballerina dancer in imagery inspired by the quintuple Oscar nominated film The Black Swan which earned a Best Actress Oscar for Natalie Portman. The pensive and melancholy nature of the song is perfectly manifested by Kahlia who confirms that the choreography, courtesy of Caitlin Gray who had worked with Greksa on red carpet events for The Great Gatsby, was easily sourced for her as a dancer. The music video for “You Ruin Me” was awarded Best Video at the Aria awards, Australia’s version of the Grammys, and has received 10,000,000 views to date.
The next project for Kahlia will be appearing as the lead dancer Ellen in Full Rush, a feature film produced by Zeus Zamani and AZ films. Described as a dramatic exploration of both the beauty and darkness that is coming of age in the seductive world of dance, entertainment, and success; Full Rush is an intricately choreographed journey of movement and emotion, that becomes a story of love, hope, despair, and passion between two young sisters who share a bond and journey that goes far beyond simply their dreams of fame and success. The role and the film are far from traditional or status quo. Greksa hints, “The role will not only be physically demanding but also emotionally, due to the fact I will be portraying Ellen through highly emotive movement that will require months of intense rehearsal, whilst also developing and building a character within that movement.” Kahlia Greksa is always pushing her own creativity. The past projects of her career have proven that she’ll likely be creating something extraordinary as Ellen in Full Rush. Kahlia’s recent signing with Burbank California based Lisa Lindholm from GTA (Go 2 Talent Agency) Dance Agency means that Hollywood will soon be seeing a lot of this Australian dancing talent.
