BIOGRAPHY

Sanjay Saverimuttu was born in West Lafayette, IN where he started ballet under the guidance of his aunt, Sandra Peticolas, at Lafayette Ballet School. His main pre-professional training was in Boca Raton, FL at Boca Ballet Theatre under the directorship of Dan Guin and Jane Tyree with summer program training at Ballet Austin, Boston Ballet, School of American Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet. He graduated from Dreyfoos School of the Arts where he majored in Dance. Sanjay earned a BS in Biology from Stanford University. At Stanford, he continued his dance training under teachers Kristine Elliott, Muriel Maffre, Robert Moses, Diane Frank, and Alonzo King. He studied abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, where he worked and taught at Dance For All, an organization specializing in educating and training township youth in ballet and dance. This moment was the catalyst to for his entrance into the professional ballet world and has guided his mission for increased representation on stage, in new works, and in the classroom.

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Sanjay joined Louisville Ballet in 2012 and danced with the company for 11 seasons. As a dancer, Sanjay has performed in many classical and contemporary ballets. Some of those highlights include, Val Caniparoli’s A Cinderella Story, and Adam Hougland’s Cold Virtues and Romeo + Juliet, and Ronald Hynd's Merry Widow. He has also originated roles in works by Andrea Schermoly, Robert Curran, Ching Ching Wong, and Brandon Ragland.

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Sanjay has received commissions for his choreographic work from Dayton Ballet, Louisville Ballet, Ballet Arkansas, Louisville Ballet Studio Company, the Louisville Ballet Youth Ensemble, Renverse Ballet, and Boca Ballet Theatre. His work, Always on Your Mind, was selected for the Gala night of the 2018 RDA SERBA Dance Festival. He received one of the inaugural grants from the Elevator Artist Resource, to help complete his first dance film, which premiered as a part of the Louisville Film Society Short Film Society. Sanjay is a member of the Hadley Creatives Class of 2019, a professional development program to elevate local Louisville artists in their careers. He co-produced Dis/Comfort Zones, an immersive multi-disciplinary arts showcase at Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, along with his fellow Hadley Creatives. Sanjay's been featured as an artist in Queer Kentucky, Pointe Magazine, and Stanford Magazine. In 2019-2020, he served as an Artist in Residence at the University of Kentucky's Dance Department. He along with playwright Allie Fireel, have created some of Louisville’s first professional choeo-plays, blending the art forms of theatre and dance around the themes of queer identity and friendship. Sanjay was featured as a choreographer in the 10,000 Dreams Festival hosted by Final Bow for Yellowface.  In 2024, he served on the Research Advisory Board for Arts Administrators of Color Network and as a member of the All Rise Cohort by Tom O’Connor Consulting Group.

 

Sanjay has served on faculty at Louisville Ballet School, Nittany Ballet, and Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts. He has taught at summer programs and master classes at the University of Kentucky, Missouri Contemporary Ballet andLafayette Ballet. Sanjay is certified in Mental Health First Aid and has received further training through Minding the Gap’s course for teachers.