Sitara Thobani (University of Oxford)
Sitara Thobani is currently studying for her DPhil in Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Oxford. She received her BA in Anthropology and Asian Studies from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, and her MA in Sociology and Equity Studies from the University of Toronto. She has presented work from her MA thesis Entertaining Subalternity: The Performance of Nation and the Politics of Indian Classical Dance at UBC, U of T, and Ryerson University. Her research interests include postcolonial theory, nationalism, race and gender, specifically as they relate to and inform contemporary performances of Indian classical dance. These interests are informed by her experiences as a classically trained Odissi dancer. Sitara has studied Odissi since the age of 12, and has performed in Canada, the U.S., the U.K, Tanzania and India. She has also received several arts fellowships for training and dance production as an emerging dance professional.
