Onara De Silva - Program Associate & Teacher

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An Alumni of Meshground, Onara de Silva is a Sri Lankan born dancer and teacher who is interested in dance as a form of therapeutic and spiritual harmony that promotes physical and mental well-being. Having started her dance training at the age of 10 with Wendy Perera, Onara joined Meshground to study contemporary practices in dance under the guidance of her teacher, Umeshi Rajeendra, and completed her ballet exams with the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) under the guidance of her teacher, Hannelore Imig-Jayasundara. 

In 2023, Onara graduated with a BA in Dance, Summa Cum Laude, from San Francisco State University, USA, where she was named Dance Honoree for the School of Theatre and Dance and was also President of the Student Dance Alliance- a student run organization that provided a community for dancers from all paths of life. There, she worked with Wendy Diamond, Ray Tadio, Marlayna Locklear, Dr. Yuitian Wong, and her mentor Arvejon Jones among others.

Her experience as a dancer has included, but not limited to, dancing for MeshGround's dance company, Mesh Dance Theatre (2017-2019), "Lizard Song" a dance film by Sarah Rosenthal, choreographed by Arvejon Jones- which was featured in The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival (2024) as well as performing with The Straw Dogs in their dance production of "The Stories of the People Next to Us" that premiered in San Francisco.Her experience as a teacher has included, but not limited to, teaching at Meshground in Sri Lanka from 2021-2022, teaching Modern dance for the Youth program at Shawl Anderson Dance Company in San Francisco (2023-2024), and working as a professional pointe shoe fitter with The Pointe Shop (2023-2024).