ODISSI DANCE

ODISSI DANCERS

Sanjukta Panigrahi

Ratna Roy

Sonal Mansingh

SANJUKTA PANIGRAHI

Born in a respectable and orthodox family, Sanjukta was the first Oriya girl to embrace this classical dance at an early age and ensure its grand revival.

She took this classical dance to all parts of the world, performed in every nook and corner and established herself as a renowned classical dancer, producing innovative dance ballets on varied subjects.

She started performing Odissi at the age of six under the guidance of Guru Padma Bhusan Kelu Charan Mahapatra and bagged the first prize in the International Children's Film Festival in 1952. That was the first time that the Odissi dance form was known to outsiders.

She was the only female artist of Orissa to embrace Odissi dancing as her career, performing continuously. Sanjukta was the first ever artiste who choreographed and performed the non-traditional lyric within the limits of the Odissi style and her experiment with the Surdas Padmavalli, Tagore songs, Bhagwad Geeta and Tulsi Ramayan were highly successful. Being the exponent of both Bharatnatyam and Odissi, she took great interest and initiative in explaining the originality of the Odissi style and established it as an independent style of Indian classical dance. She toured extensively and gave enthralling performance and had been able to give Odissi, hitherto a neglected dance style, a status equal to any other recognised classical dance form of India.

Specialising in the Nrutyashree in Odissi and Nrutya Praveena in Bharatnatyam style with Kathakali as second subject, Sanjukta took her diploma from Kala Vikash Kendra at Cuttack and diploma in Nurtya Praveena at the Kalakhetra of Rukmini Devi Arundale of Madras.

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RATNA ROY

Ratna Roy was trained in India in classical Odissi dance, both the women’s (mahari) and the men’s (gotipua) traditions, and is one of the few remaining dancers who practice the women’s dances in Orissi style, including the Panchakanya (Five Virtuous Women). She studied under Guru Pankaj Charan Das, the guru of gurus, son of a Mahari (temple dancer) at the Jagannatha Temple in Puri. Ratna Roy has received two Fulbrights, an American Institute of Indian Studies Fellowship, and the National Endowment for the Arts Choreography Award for her dance and has performed and conducted workshops internationally. Her latest research work is in dance for self-empowerment of women and dance therapy.

She has performed in several countries, including India, Great Britain, the Baltics, Indonesia, Singapore, China, and Japan. She did a performance and workshop at the NGO Forum of the UN Conference on Women in China in 1995 and toured the Kansai area in Japan with a Japanese company, Lasenkan, in 1996. In addition to her work teaching at The Evergreen State College, and developing an accredited three year curriculum in Orissi dance there, Ratna has her own Dance Company, Urvasi, made up of her most advanced dancers. Several dancers, trained by Ratna, are now performing in the United States, Canada, and Japan. She was invited by the Philippine Educational Theatre Association ( PETA) to conduct a two-week workshop in the Philippines, April 1998.
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SONAL MANSINGH

A leading exponent of Odissi, the ancient and traditional dance style of Orissa with a background of decades of training in Bharata Natyam, Chhau the martial dance from Orissa and Indian music she has made original chirographies based on Indian mythology as well as contemporary issues.

Lately her work has veered more and more towards issues concerning women and environment. She has been on stage since 1964. Her role as a social activist, thinker, researcher, orator, choreographer and teacher combines admirably with her dancing further enriching the tradition. She founded the Centre for Indian Classical Dances (CICD) in 1977 in Delhi and has trained many young men and women, some of who have earned critical acclaim already.

She is the youngest recipient of the high honor of 'Padma Bhushan' among artists in India.

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MADHAVI MUDGAL

Madhavi Mudgal epitomizes the elegance and sophistication that are the result of blending modern sensibilities with the ancient ethos of eastern India to create the highly lyrical dance art of Odissi. Born into a family deeply involved in propagating the classical arts, Madhavi was immersed in music and dance from a very young age. With every opportunity to learn the arts, Madhavi trained in Bharata Natyam and Kathak under great gurus and performed these dance styles to acclaim.

Later she turned to Odissi which she adopted as her preferred medium. Her introduction to Odissi took place under Guru Hare Krishna Bahera who trained her in the fundamentals. Later she came under the tutelage of the renowned Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra.

Madhavi's command over the nrutya or purely ornamental aspect of Odissi is striking. Her delicate postures and strong rhythmic footwork combine in an appealing flow of sculpturesque movements. Her subtle abhinaya (the expressional aspect of dance), musical knowledge and aesthetic sense add to the highly distinctive character of her recitals.

Through teaching, performing and conducting workshops, Madhavi has been actively involved in propagating the art of Odissi in New Delhi and other parts of India as well as the world. She has trained a number of accomplished students who are performers in their own right. In nineteen eighty five she organized a seminar and festival, Angahaar, a first of its kind event in New Delhi when gurus, scholars and dancers met to revisit the origins of Odissi and think about the future trends of the dance form. She also directed and produced a short audio-visual documentary that was screened at the festival.

Madhavi's father, the late Professor Vinay Chandra Maudgalya was the founder of the famous Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi's first and most highly reputed institution for the teaching of Hindustani music and classical dance. Madhavi has been teaching Odissi at this institute for many years.

For her contribution to the art, Madhavi Mudgal received the Sanskriti Award and the President of India's award, the Padmashri.

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KAVITA DWIBEDI

Daughter and disciple of Odissi maestro Guru Harekrishna Behera, Kavita Dwibedi is one of the leading exponents of Odissi dance in India today. She is a Post Graduate in Sociology from Delhi University and holds Visharad (B.A) in Odissi dance from Gandharva Mahavidyalay. A dancer of vision and versatility, Kavita is known for her superb abhinaya. A widely travelled danseuse, Kavita had a highly successful Indian Council For Cultural Relations (ICCR) sponsored performance tour to the U.K., Italy, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Denmark, Ireland and Norway during the 50th anniversary celebrations of India's independence in 1997. The artiste has also earned wide acclaim for her performances at some of the world’s highly prestigious platforms in countries like the U.S.A. and Canada and including her presentation at the UN Headquarters at New York . She has also taken part in international events in Spain (1991), China (1994), Japan (1994), Kuwait(1995), Maldives (1995), Kyrgyzstan(1998), Germany (1999) and France (1999).

In her professional career spanning over ten years, Kavita Dwibedi has also had the privilege of presenting Odissi dance recitals in almost all the major dance festivals in the country like the Khajuraho Dance Festival (1996), Konark Music and Dance Festival (1992,1995), Natyanjali Dance Festival(1997), Soorya Dance Festival (1994,1998), Mamallapuram Dance Festival (1994-97), Malabar- Mahotsavam (1996), Tansen Tyagraj Festival (1997), Sidharth Music and Dance Festival (1998) and Puri-Beach Dance Festival (1996). She had also been invited to participate in the festival of Odissi dance Nrutya Parva (1998) to mark the 50 years of Odissi organised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi at Bhubaneswar.

A dancer of deep commitment towards an undiluted and authentic approach to Odissi, Kavita is credited with a number of new choreographies based on traditional chhanda music of Orissa like the much lauded Ritu – Rang (Seasons of Love) and Proshitapatika (Naayika longing for her beloved Naayak). Her other landmarks in choreography are Saptatala Dhyaan, Khajuraho Vaibhav and Jugalbandis with Manipuri, Bharatanatyam and Kathak .

She was awarded a Junior Fellowship by the Department Of Culture, Government of India in 1997. She was also a recepient of a Government of India Scholarship in the field of Music & Dance from the Ministry of Human Resource Development for the period 1990-92. A winner of several awards and medals, Kavita Dwibedi is the founder Director of Odissi Akademi, Delhi -- an Institution set up by her to promote and propagate Odissi dance and music.
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RATIKANTA MOHAPATRA

Ratikant Mohapatra is the leading male Odissi dancer of the day and he continues to enjoy this position for the past one decade. Born into the illustrious family of Padmabibhusan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and Laxmipriya, Ratikant has been endowed with all the natural abilities that a dancer should possess. He has been trained rigorously in both the theoretical
as well as practical aspects of Odissi, which combine to make him a perfect teacher.Besides dancing, Ratikant is a brilliant percussionist of the Odissi Pakhawaj. His excellent training in both theory and practical, his exact teaching and his thorough understanding of Odissi music qualifies him as a complete exponent of Odissi dance.

He has toured both nationally & internationally, thus claiming to be the most widely traveled male Odissi dancer of the country. Ratikant has represented the country at the Festivals of India in Germany, France, USA, Russia, Japan and U.K. Ratikant Mohapatra’s performance has evoked sensational comments from the pens of noted dance critics and he has been hailed as the numero uno of the male dancers. He displays excellent qualities in both nritta (pure dance) and nritya (interpretative dance) – a rare combination in any dancer. Being young, Ratikant has the advantage of time and with his continuous efforts he will be able to follow into the footsteps of the founder-architect of Odissi Padmabibhusan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. No wonder, The times of India quoted Ratikant as the " Junior Kelucharan Mohapatra " in one of its review.At present Ratikant is designated as full time Director at Srjan, a premire Odissi dance institute of our country founded by Padmabibhusan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. In order to give shape to the objectives of Srjan for setting up the institute he has shouldered the responsibility to make Srjan an immortal landmark in the History of Odissi.
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Kumkum Mohanty

Kumkum was born in cuttack in a family with a rich heritage of culture. Her father late Sri Bama Charan Das and Mother late Smt. Punyaprava Das were the source of inspiration for her to keep the art and the tradition of Orissa. Her maternal grand father, the late Braja Sunder Das was himself a great patron of the Arts.Kumkum started her early tutelage and initiation in to Odissi at the age of nine in Kala Vikash Kendra, Cuttack. This was the time which saw the revival of Odissi in the social and contemporary stage. Her early training lasted nearly 10 years by which time she has successfully finished high school and taken up academic as a serious pursuit.
Kumkum is an M.A. in Political Science from Utkal University. she topped the list. Then she joined the Indian Postal Service qualifying in Allied Service in 1970. She is an able Bureaucrat artist of International fame. At present she heads Odissi Research Center as the chief Executive which is an autonomous institution for promoting and propagating the research in various facets of this rich cultural tradition of Orissa. At present she is the Special Secretary, culture, Government of Orissa.
She is inextricably linked with the evolution of modern Odissi Dance.she is one of the leading disciples of the renowned Odissi Guru Padmabhusan Kelu Charan Mohapatra.

Kumkum has performed all over the country and in the most prestigious dance and music conferences-Sur Singar Sansad, Haridas Sammelan, Tamnsen Conference, All India Dance Festival (Delhi), Krishna Gana Sabha, Khajuraho, UDCO (Lucknow) and various music conferences of Calcutta.
Nishigandha Festival, Soorya Festival, Kinkini Dance Festival, NCPA, Mumbai, International Appellate jurists Conference etc.
She had been telecast from National Network many times. Besides Performance in side India, She had performed extensively in foreign countries: RUSSIA, U.S.A., JAPAN, .INDONESIA, SINGAPORE, LONDON,etc

Odissi Research center is her brain child which has achieved its name for Odissi music and Odissi Dance at National level in its 10 years of tenure. Her attempt to put Odissi music in the classical map of India needs special mention.
She is recipient of innumerable awards from different institutions for the contribution to Orissan cultural field. She is one of the Academy winner for her dance.

It is for effort, the center has published the first detailed and systematic teaching manual in the form of an illustrated primer. She has also done the monumental work on codification of Odissi Dance nomenclature, for the first time, identifiable basis poses (still and mobile) of the odissi dance form. This has been published as the second volume of odissi Dance Path Finder and is highly appreciated in India And abroad .

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KAKALI PARAMGURU

Completed VISHARAD in Odissi Dance from Akhila Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal (ABGMM), Mumbai (1994 November/ December Examination) in First Class.
Completed BHASKAR in Odissi Dance from Pracheena Kalakendra, Chandigarh (1997), in First Class with Distinction in Practical.Awarded Certificate of Merit for standing Second in Bhaskar in the faculty Of Odissi Dance from Pracheena Kalakendra, Chandigarh, Eastern zone (1997). Awarded National Scholarship in the faculty of Odissi Dance under the Scheme of Scholarship for Young Artists from Department of Culture, Human Resources Development, Government of India, in the year 1995.

Visited Kazakhstan as a member of the Odissi Dance group to participate in the KAZAKHSTAN FESTIVAL (Days of Indian Culture at KAZAKHSTAN), organized by INDIAN COUNCIL FOR CULTURAL RELATIONS, Govt. of INDIA
Participated in Group Items at Cultural Festival at Hyderabad (1995), Beach Festival, Puri (1995, 1996), Konark Festival (1997), Days of Indian Culture at Kazakhstan (By ICCR, 1997), etc.

Solo performances at Sur Singar Samsad, Mumbai (1997), (17th annual) Natyanjali Festival, Chidambaram (1998), 13th Pollachi Tamil Izai Sangam Festival (1998), Celebrations of 50th Year of Independence of India at IIT Kharagpur(1998), 14th Konark Dance & Music Festival (1999), National Seminar on Sponge Iron Technology at Jindal Steel & Power Ltd., Raigarh (M.P.) (2000) etc.

Completed Visharad in Hindustan Vocal from ABGMM & is a life member of ABGMM.

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JYOTI SRIVASTAV

Jyoti has cultivated a life long devotion to Classical Indian Dance since her first performance at the very early age of four. She has studied under some of the most revered Gurus : Valmiki Banerjee, Durga Charan Ranbir and Srinath Raut. She also studied Mohiniattam, Manipuri and various folk dance forms. She earned an M. Phil in classical music which gave her a more indepth understanding of dance. She is also an avid Yoga practitioner. However, of all these pursuits, her heart is captivated by the Odissi dance form. Jyoti has received various Scholarship fellowships titles and awards for her expertise in this field. "SRINAGAR MANI" was conferred on her by Sur Singar Samsad of Bombay. She has worked for two years with Guru Ramli Ibrahim in Malaysia. During this period, she assisted in the productions of his Sutra Dance Theatre. She has also done indepth research and training on the style and compositions of Guru Deb Prasad Das in her capacity as the Director of the Nehru Institute of Odissi Research and Training in Delhi. She has organized international seminars, symposia and training programmes for aspiring young dancers.

Jyoti has given performances extensively throughout India and abroad, including in Festivals. The talented artiste's performances include :-

YOUVA MOHATSAV in DELHI – 1986
DEB PRASAD DAS FESTIVAL in Bhubaneshwar – 1987
HARI DAS SAMMELAN in Bombay – 1990
KLALKA KALKAR in Bombay – 1989
" ADORATION " in Malaysia – 1992
ODISSI ALIVE in Malaysia – 1993
Guru Pranam Utsav in Delhi – 1994
Kartik Fine Arts Festival in Madras – 1995
Krishnna Gana Saba in Madras – 1996
KIN KINI festival in Bangalore – 1997
ICCR's Horizon Series in Delhi & Lucknow – 1998
Sangeet Natak Akademi's Odissi festival in Bhubaneshwar- 1998
She has also performed in Jaipur, Lucknow, Patna, Muradabad in India and abroad in Sri Lanka (recently sponsored by the ICCR), Mauritius, U.S.A. & Canada.

Jyoti has dedicated her dance skills to the cause of young dancers whom she trains to keep alive the testimony of dance over the years. She strongly feels that this art has to be passed on to aspiring youngsters, so that it is enriched with experience and lives eternally. This can be in a dance school where students take up dance as a full time vocation and reside there while they train and perform. She herself would love to continue performing irrespective of time and age because she believes that she can "dance to the grave".
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