Raghav Juyal is an Indian dancer, choreographer, actor and television presenter. He has been called King of Slow Motion for his surreal dance moves in slow motion style and for his reinvention of the Slow Motion Walk. His stage name Crockroaxz describes his dancing style which is an amalgamation of being "powerful like a crocodile" and "creepy like a cockroach". He rose to fame after being a contestant and finalist in Zee TV dance reality shows such as Dance India Dance, as a skipper for the team Raghav Ke Rockstars in DID Li'l Masters 2 and Dance Ke Superkids where his team was declared the winner under his captainship.
Career
Dance India Dance Raghav became known when his audition video went viral on YouTube. He was a contestant on Dance India Dance 3 , which aired on Zee TV. He dubbed himself as Crockroaxz and was not professionally trained by anyone prior to coming on the show. Raghav showcased a new dance style but wasn't selected in the Top 18 by the Grand Master in Mega Audition. Later, on public demand, Grand Master Mithun Chakraborty made an exception in the format by reintroducing him on the show as his Trump Card in the Wild Card round, through which he entered the competition again. Thereafter, Raghav created different dance-forms and reached the finale. He was the most popular contestant of the season having garnered the most No. 1 positions in weekly voting. At the Grand finale, he was voted with votes in the 2nd runner up position. DID Li'L Masters After DID, Raghav became the skipper of team Raghav Ke Rockstars in DID Li'l masters where he choreographed for Saumya Rai and Rohan Parkdale. He was the only skipper to lead both of his students to the Grand finale, in which Rohan and Saumya attained 2nd and 3rd runner up positions respectively. Dance Ke Superkids Raghav then choreographed for Zee TV's show Dance Ke Superkids as the Captain of DID Li'l Masters team Yahoo and competed against DID Li'l Masters team Wakao – with Dharmesh Yelande as the Captain. In the Grand Finale, his team was declared the winner.
2014–present
In 2014, Juyal debuted as an actor by playing a pivotal role in the comedy film, Sonali Cable co-starring Rhea Chakraborty and Ali Fazal, produced by Ramesh Sippy Entertainment which was released on 17 October 2014. The critics singled out Raghav's vivacious performance and praised his screen presence. In 2015, he starred in the dance film, ABCD 2 which was released on 19 June 2015, directed by Remo D'Souza co-starring Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor. Later, he also hosted the dance reality show Dance Plus which aired on Star Plus. In the same year, he co-hosted Prem Ki Diwali along with Karishma Tanna which was broadcast on Life Ok. In 2016, he was seen in season 7 as a contestant which aired on Colors TV. Later, he has hosted the Dance Plus .In the same year, he also co-hosted and appeared on Star Parivaar Awards and Colors Golden Petal Awards. Later he hosted and performed on the show, Timeless Aisha which was aired on Zee Classic. In 2017, he co-hosted the singing reality show, Rising Star along with Meiyang Chang which aired on Colors TV. In mid 2017 he has hosted Dance Plus . In the same year, he began co-hosting the dance reality show, Dance Champions with Ridhima Pandit. In 2018, he co-hosted the second season of the singing reality show, Dil Hai Hindustani along with Mukti Mohan. He starred in the romantic comedy film, Nawabzaade along with Dharmesh Yelande, Punit Pathak and Isha Rikhi directed by Jayesh Pradhan which was released on 27 July 2018. Later in the year, he co-hosted Dance Plus along with Sugandha Mishra. In 2019, he hosted Dance Plus along with Sugandha Mishra. In 2020, he appeared in the dance film Street Dancer 3D.
Influences
Raghav accredited learning dance from the internet and television. He created a fusion mainly inspired from the slow yet powerful movements of a Crocodile and the swiftness of a Cockroach. His signature step is his Slow Motion Walk. Choreographers like Remo D'Souza and Terrence Lewis have stated that they had never seen anyone emulate the effect as realistically, before Raghav.
Personal life
He is the son of Deepak Juyal, an advocate, and Alka Bakshi Juyal. Raghav was born and brought up in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Born in a Garhwali family he belongs to his ancestral village Khetu in Uttarkhand. Raghav had never taken any formal training in dance but picked it up from watching performances on the internet and television. He started winning laurels as a dancer right from his days in Doon International School. Later, he joined DAV College to pursue his B.Com.
