Uma started dancing at age five at the Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre (CCDT). Uma always loved to move and groove to music – even before coming to Toronto, Canada from her native India. At CCDT, Uma was introduced to ballet and the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) syllabus with Carmen Cairns, Deborah Lundmark and Stephanie Violin.
At 17, Uma became a junior professional dancer when she was selected to join the CCDT Company where she danced with some of Canada’s finest young contemporary dancers and internationally renowned choreographers, as a Company member, for two years. As a part of this young, professional company, Uma had the opportunity to work with artists such as: Carol Anderson, Gioconda Barbuto, Sylvie Bouchard, Hanna Kiel, Ryan Lee, Alyssa Martin, as well as other amazing choreographers and teachers like Jera Wolfe, Roderick George, Dante Puleio, and Colin Connor. All throughout, Uma was also extremely fortunate to be mentored by Natasha Poon-Woo, whom Uma credits as one of her earliest and longest-standing inspirations and supporters.
As well as dancing with CCDT, Uma spent her high school years attending Rosedale Heights School of the Arts (RHSA) where she majored in dance. Uma was awarded RHSA’s highest dance award and earned a much-coveted merit scholarship to attend the Boston Conservatory at Berklee (BOCO). Having completed her BFA degree in May 2025, Uma is currently living and working in Toronto as a Company Member with the Impetus Movement Dance Company and on an energy-exchange basis with Metro Movement Dance.
During her time at BOCO, Uma performed in dances by alumni such as Laila Franklin, as well as a wide range of well-known companies and choreographers, including Doug Varone and his The Constant Shift of Pulse, In the Midst of EBB, choreographed by Kurt Douglas and Metamorphosis created by Jarek Cemerek. Uma has also performed in Kurt Douglas’s reconstruction of Jose Limon’s The Unsung – which for the first time ever was permitted by the Limon Company to be performed by an all-woman company and also as a cast member and solist in Norbert De La Cruz III’s The Closest to the Sun.
Prior to joining the Impetus Dance Company, Uma’s final performance as a student was in Onward Still with choreographer Ken Ossola in Boston, Massachusetts. Uma looks forward to continuing to learn, love and live her truth… in dance and the Arts for the rest of her life!
