BIOGRAPHY

Born in Andhra Pradesh, India, Swathi Sree Lalitha Maddi grew up traveling across Southeast Asia. She committed to her dance training at fifteen years old in Singapore at Performers Ballet Academy. Swathi had begun with Royal Academy of Dance ballet for four years, when she took her first contemporary class with Samantha Yue - dancer and teacher from Frontier Danceland, Singapore. Swathi now explores her geographically informed artistic expression through the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Contemporary Dance program at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. There she has been introduced to modern forms by Kurt Douglas (Limón), Jim Viera (Horton), and Ruka Hutua-Saar (Graham). Swathi also developed a keen sense for commercial movement such as heels and hip-hop and the theatrical Clowning for dancers.

 

Within her personal movement exploration, Swathi discovered an affinity for the stronger movement of West African dance as in Shelter by Jowale Willa Jo Zollar and multiple other student works. Alternatively, contemporary blends as in NVA & Guests, GALLIM, Countertechnique and the Alexander Technique support her investigation. She continues to hold a great appreciation for movement derived from a rich history enhanced by her intensive with pair Danae & Dionysius, previous company dancers for Akram Khan. Swathi’s broad understanding of literature informs her artistic pursuits - in that she is continuously finding ways to weave her Asian heritage, academic investigation, and modern western influences to create a reality in which they may all coexist. Swathi understands that dance is a gift and a power to wield - to invoke and evoke progress within ourselves and our communities