The choreography for Yen’s new magic is apparently quite culturally specific: “We put a lot of Indian dance and movements into this, because we wanted to be specific and for magic to be more placed,” Chalotra told Entertainment Weekly. “We were looking into ways we could do that and make it more personal.” The actress herself is of Indian heritage, and Vogue India reported that, though she was born in the UK, Chalotra finally got to visit India in 2019 ahead of the show’s release.
It’s unclear how much of the new choreography was Chalotra’s own idea, but in an interview with Hey U Guys, she explains the thought process behind the new motions. “I think I just wanted to elevate magic a little bit this season, and for it to be a bit more – we see more of it, so I wanted to still apply some specificity to that,” she explained. This isn’t the first time “The Witcher” has incorporated choreography ideas that came from the cast: GamesRadar+ reports that Henry Cavill helped design one of the show’s most memorable fight scenes way back in season 1.