
Sanchita Sharma
Ph.D. in Culture and Performance
I am a performing artist and a dance scholar. As a PhD Candidate at the Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, UCLA, I investigate the relationship between somatic awareness, corporeal resistance, and caste privilege in Indian contemporary dance. Trained as a jazz and postmodern dancer in Delhi, India, I have performed extensively across India, China, Scotland, and the States. I am interested in bridging the gap between dance scholarship and practice. As the first Editorial Intern at Conversation Across the field of Dance Studies (2021-2023), I am actively learning strategies to devise decolonial and anti-racist methodologies in dance research. As an artist, I have been a resident-performer at Gati Dance Forum (GSDR; New Delhi), Maya Dance Theatre (Singapore), and Crashbox, Rude Mechs (Austin). My recent dance film, Engage, was a finalist at New Wave Short Film Festival (Munich) and awarded the “Best Dance Film” in Seoul International Short Film Festival (2021). My other recent collaborations include performances with interdisciplinary artist Julie Tolentino, and choreographers Milka Djordjevich and Ligia Lewis (Los Angeles), Mandeep Raikhy (New Delhi), and Preethi Athreya (Chennai).