dancer. choreographer. researcher.
As an American-born daughter of south Indian immigrants, I value hybridity. Using the traditional lexicon of Bharatanatyam, I tell stories that extend beyond place, culture and mythology to touch on the universal human condition.
My choreography involves two major veins of exploration: animating the percussive footwork of Bharatanatyam through rhythmic isolation and improvisation, and abstracting gestural storytelling to open the cross-cultural expressive potential. In both these veins, I deconstruct the form, teasing apart the tightly woven layers of Indian dance so that contemporary audiences and media can more deeply engage.
In parallel to expanding the classical into contemporary, I expand data and analytics as a Principal Researcher / Director of Wastewater Research at Mathematica — a career that has allowed dance to remain a sacred, artistic pursuit, free from commercial pressures.
