About Usiloquy
Mission
Usiloquy Dance Designs creates traditional and cross-cultural productions of Indian classical dance Bharatanatyam and conducts educational programs.
History
Bharatanatyam is a highly structured, complex dance style that traces its roots to Southern India thousands of years back in time. It is a dynamic, percussive dance form characterized by striking the sole, heel, and ball of the foot in countless permutations and combinations with hand gestures-‘Mudras’ and multidimensional arrangements of arms and legs forming at once statuesque and fluid patterns. Emphatic facial expressions and body language add further layers making it a myriad collage of text, poetry, and movement.
Program Offerings
Usiloquy is available to book for:
Live Stage productions in auditoriums, outdoor festivals, conference halls, corporate events, community centers, and nontraditional venues.
Dance technique workshops, panel discussions, lecture-demonstrations.
Choreography commissions, dance in film, or music videos.
Dancers / Nartakis
Ankita Reddy
Ankita has been dancing Bharatanatyam for 18 years, training primarily at the Natyabhoomi School of Dance in DC. She completed her Rangapravesham in 2015 and continued to dance, forming the Trishulam Group in Boston. Ankita has danced in several venues including the Kennedy Center, National Cherry Blossom Festival, and the Boston Conservatory. She also enjoys exploring other dance forms, including Bhangra, ballet, and salsa. As she continues Bharatanatyam she hopes to use movement as a lens to critically reflect upon the dance form and the diaspora experience.
Asavari Scarff
Asavari studied Bharatanatyam for 12 years at the Bharathakalai School of Dance in Massachusetts, graduating with an Arangetram in 2016. She also has experience performing in dance styles such as ballet, Jazz, Bhangra, and Kuthu. She was part of the college competitive fusion dance team 'Drexel Jhalak' from 2017 to 2020 in Philadelphia.
Katlyn Das
Katlyn has been doing Bharatanatyam for 17 years, primarily training under her mom, Guru Nimmy Das. She completed her Arangetram in 2018 and has also performed in cultural festivals with her dance school, Bharatham Dance Academy, in Pennsylvania. She is part of Bryn Athyn College's Dance Ensemble as well as the Pride Team, exploring styles such as Jazz, Hip-hop, Modern Contemporary, and Ballet. Katlyn has had the honor of performing in venues like Carnegie Hall. She is constantly expanding her dance horizons by joining her school's ballroom club, dabbling in styles such as Fox Trot, Swing, Salsa, Cumbia, Merengue, and Bachata.
Meghna Gummadi
Meghna began her dance journey in 2003 learning Kuchipudi from Shri Raja Reddy and Smt. Radha Reddy at the Natya Tarangini Dance Institute in New Delhi. After that she continued her studies with Smt. Manju Bhargavi in Bangalore until 2010 and then learned Bharatanatyam for a couple of years from Smt. Usha Prabhakar. She performed with her dance schools and at events organized by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Air Force in India. She returned to learning and performing with Usiloquy in 2021 while pursuing her doctoral studies in Philadelphia.
Aney Abraham
During her early education in South India, Aney received training in Mohiniyattam, one of Kerala’s traditional dance forms. She performed folk style dances, including Thiruvathira, Oppana, and Kolkadi in school kalolsavams. After high school, she moved to United States where she studied modern dance at Temple University and has performed semi classical Indian dances in cultural festivals. A passion for dance has followed Aney all throughout her life. Though Mohiniyattam is still close to her heart, she returned to dance in 2013 learning and performing Bharatanatyam with Usiloquy.
Board of Directors
Shaily Dadiala (Prasad), President & Artistic Director
Barb J. Baur, Treasurer
Barb serves as the Treasurer on Usiloquy’s board. She oversees all activities related to budgeting and financial planning. She is a Philadelphia based artist and educator who makes and designs things, primarily art jewelry as well as an adjunct professor at Temple University Tyler School of Art, runs the Tacony LAB Community Arts Center and has her own business, Fair Winds Jewelry. Barb is a sailor and has a continuing fascination with wind, water, waves and the forms of sailing vessels. When she is not running a business or making jewelry, Barbara is an artist, musician, published author, home-schooling mother, and spent six year as in-home caregiver for one of her best friends. Barbara has several years’ experience as a board member and committee chair with her previous church in Florida and underwent a Leadership Training by the Florida District UUA.
Siwaraya Rochanahusdin
Siwaraya Rochanahusdin is a writer and poet. She has consulted for the rolling world premiere of Paranormal Inside, NCIS: New Orleans, and the off-Broadway world premiere of Brothers Paranormal. Siwaraya is a Voices of Our Nations Artists (VONA) alum. She was awarded Community Honoree by the Asian Law Caucus and the Asian Pacific American Top Unsung Hero by Asian Pacific Americans for Progress for defending the First Amendment rights of immigrant seniors. She is a former Thai classical dancer and musician.
Dr. Varsha Patel
Dr. Varsha Patel was born and raised in Philadelphia, where she became involved with Usiloquy Dance, attending their performances and taking lessons during her final year of medical school. She has always been passionate about dance, especially Bharatanatyam, and its significance in Indian culture. She hopes to instill a similar passion in her three daughters. She has been practicing medicine since 2010, and she currently is a Palliative Care physician. She enjoys reading and writing and writes on her blog www.penpaperstorm.com about a wide variety of topics including social justice, medicine, women's issues, books, recipes, original poetry, and more. She loves traveling and cooking and is starting to delve into baking! She lives and works in the Atlanta, GA area with her husband and family.
Raena Shirali
Raena Shirali is a writer and editor. Her first collection of poems, GILT (YesYes Books in 2017), won the 2018 Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award and grapples with cultural expectation and intersectional identity. Her second book, summonings (Black Lawrence Press, 2022), investigates the ongoing practice of witch hunting in India and won the 2021 Hudson Prize. Winner of a Pushcart Prize & a former Philip Roth Resident at Bucknell University, Shirali is also the recipient of prizes and honors from VIDA, Gulf Coast, Boston Review, & Cosmonauts Avenue. She was a 2026 Yaddo Fellow and has attended residencies at Portland Community College's Carolyn Moore Writers House, Escribe Aquí, and many more. Shirali previously served as Board Member for BreakBread Literacy Project and organizer of We (Too) Are Philly--a summer POC poetry festival held in 2018. Having taken Bharatanatyam lessons as a child, she took part in a community dance number under the tutelage of Shaily Dadiala in 2025. She holds an MFA in Poetry from Ohio State University and lives in Philadelphia.
Stay in Touch with Usiloquy
Usiloquy’s work is made possible by generous support from
Usiloquy Dance Designs is a not for profit, charitable organization under section 501©(3) of the Federal tax code.
Leadership support for the New Stages for Dance Initiative is provided by
Please extend your tax-deductible donation and help Usiloquy build cultural bridges.
Check or money orders made out to:
Usiloquy Dance Designs
Philadelphia, PA 19125
