Jayanthi Siva has been training in various Indian Classical dance styles since a young age. A passionate advocate of Indian classical dance, she began her training in Bharatanatyam before she included Odissi to her repertoire, which spans over two and a half decades.

In 1999, she ventured into the arts scene as an independent professional artist and her hunger to create new forms led her to pursuing formal education in the arts field. She moved rapidly into contemporary dance theatre when she went to Brisbane, Australia in 1999. At the Queensland University of Technology, she pursued her BA in Drama (supported by the National Arts Council) followed by a Masters of Fine Arts (Dance Theatre).

She has been doing professional performances and workshops in Australia, and has continued her work as a dancer/performer, choreographer, producer and educator in Singapore since her return in 2002, simultaneously pursuing formal training to upgrade her skills. Her Singapore-Australia collaborative efforts have also paved new paths for her arts career. She has been invited to the Queensland Poetry Festival for two consecutive years (2004, 2005) for the work she has been doing on poetry for six years which includes works of contemporary poets Michael Corbidge, Cyril Wong and Terry Jeansch (AUS).

In the last seven years, she has been exploring western theatre and other dance forms and its integration with Indian dance. Her experimentation in creating a form of contemporary Indian dance theatre has led her to creating works such as A Bride’s Lament, LasyaFemme, Damsels/Divas/Demons, Random Access Memory, Release, Plastic Goddess and Smoking Incense.

Through her avid interest in choreography, Jayanthi has also been a Pilates practitioner for six years. She has specific interest in educating artists on understanding how to fully experience their bodies while in motion and at rest. To serve this goal, through Pilates, she works with dancers by taking them through a process of education in best practices and optimisation of physical capabilities while providing a solid grounding in healing through movement. This process has helped her develop a common vocabulary of movement, teaching the science and art of movement.

Jayanthi was selected for the Forty Under Forty commissioned by the Ministry of Information, Communications & the Arts for the National Day video in 2005. She represented Dance as the video was about the essence of Singapore and showcased 40 Singaporeans under 40 who shine in their own special ways.

Jayanthi is also in the Magdalena Singapore group.