2015 Physics Hello! My name is Suwanja and I’m in my final year reading Physics. For my project, I’ll be focussing on the propagation and reinterpretation of classical Indian dance and its role in constructing, as it is constructed by, the Indian diasporic identity in the U.S.A. For expatriate Indian and Tamil communities in the USA, it has been a source and means for social life and community bonding, and a way of establishing a cultural continuity with what they had left behind. As a Bharatanatyam dancer myself, I am conscious of the central role that it has had in my own identity within the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora in the UK. I have been an active member of the JCR committee as the Ethnic Minority Officer and am currently the Design Coordinator for Balliol Ball 2019. I have also been a regular performer for the Oxford South Asian Arts Society, providing dance classes for over 2 years. I am very excited to meet Old Members and spend my summer exploring North America!