Priya Thomas

Priya Thomas, PhD, is a dance historian whose recent scholarly/creative activities reflect a multidisciplinary critical practice that straddles dance, performance, theatre, music, digital media, cultural theory, public art, and community-based projects. In particular, her research and production across these domains focuses on transgression and transformation in performances of ‘nonhumans’ in the long nineteenth century, particularly as pertains to the historical interplay between physical culture and cross-cultural identity formation. She is the recipient of several research awards including multiple SSHRC grants, the Dance Studies Association, and the Canadian Society for Dance Studies. A graduate of York’s doctoral program in the Fine Arts, she currently serves as assistant professor of dance at Texas Woman’s University.