Uma Suresh

Uma Suresh is a professional Classical Indian dancer for over 50 years. As an innovative choreographer, her dance is renowned for its exquisite mime, flawless sense of rhythm, refined techniques and perfect grace. Uma is the founder and the Artistic Director of Natya Priya Dance Academy in San Diego and conducts workshops and presents lecture demonstrations to academic institutions throughout Southern California.

With nearly 600 performances to her credit, she has created hybrid segments for world audiences and has led her dance company at several prestigious dance events. She collaborated with San Diego Ballet, to create an intercultural segment in several of their ballet premiers.

She was the only Indian artiste to perform a solo, for the “16th annual Star Awards”- organized by the San Diego Performing Arts League, an umbrella organization serving more than 150 theatre, music, and dance companies throughout San Diego County. She believes that dance is a powerful medium of expression that transforms the dancer into a totally different person on stage.

She is the proud mom of Sumi, an exceptionally talented young man with Downsyndrome who passed on in 2013 at age 27.

He was an inspiring and born dancer gifted with innate abilities to connect with all genres of music. He created animated movements to suit the various moods of music and instinctively related to any type of sound. Sumi choreographed sequences in which both motion and form were specific. He also played Indian drums and has performed to audiences in San Diego.

To honor his memory Uma has developed Sumi-rrific - a totally holistic Dance Fitness Program for adults with Down syndrome. Created with council from physical therapist Dr. Sharon Criger and from Certified Yoga Instructor Priya Narthakii, "Sumi-rrific" is a Bollywood Inspired Dance Fitness Program.