Nandini Sikand

🪔 About

Nandini Sikand is an Indian-American filmmaker, anthropologist, and a distinguished figure in classical Odissi dance. Born and raised in New Delhi, India, Sikand began her training in the Odissi classical dance form at the age of seven. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from St. Stephen's College, Delhi, a Master of Arts in Communications from Northern Illinois University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology from the CUNY Graduate Center, where her doctoral dissertation focused on "Dancing With Tradition: A Global Community of Odissi Dancers". Sikand is a Professor of Film and Media Studies at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, where her academic interests include race, gender, documentary cinema, and the prison industrial complex. She is the co-founder and co-director of Sakshi Productions, a neo-classical and contemporary Odissi dance company through which she choreographs and performs regularly. Her dance work, which often integrates film imagery, live music, and elements of Indian theatre, has received funding from organizations such as the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), the Asian American Arts Alliance, and Joyce Soho. She has performed at notable venues including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Joyce SoHo, the United Nations, and the Brooklyn Museum. As an author, Sikand published "Languid Bodies, Grounded Stances: The Curving Pathway of Neoclassical Odissi Dance" in 2016, a book that combines ethnographic research with dance history to analyze the evolution of Odissi. She has also contributed chapters to other academic works on Indian dance. Her extensive filmography includes award-winning documentary and experimental films that have screened internationally and aired on PBS. Sikand was a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow in Film and Video, which supported her feature documentary "Inside/Outside" (2019) about incarcerated women. She also served on the board of directors for Women Make Movies from 1997 to 2006. Awards & Honours: Guggenheim Fellowship (2018), Grants from The Jerome Foundation, Grants from the Center for Asian American Media, New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Award, American Association of University Women (AAUW) Postdoctoral Fellowship (2013).