A distinguished danseuse of Odissi, Srimati Sujata Mohapatra has made a mark for herself among the present generation of dancers and has won whole-hearted applause from audiences and critics alike.

She made her foray into the dancing arena in her early childhood when her interest in dance was nurtured from an early age by her parents. As the disciple and daughter-in-law of the late Guru Padmavibhushan Kelucharan Mohapatra, the legendary exponent of Odissi, she inherited his devotion and passion for the classical dance form. Eighteen years of rigorous training under the guidance of her Guru eventually molded her from a devoted and diligent disciple into a graceful performer. Her dance is particularly noteworthy for her strict adherence to her guru's style and vision and her lyrical movements perfectly epitomize the grace and technical perfection of the Kelucharan Mohapatra gharana. Widely traveled over the world as a soloist, she has also been a leading dancer in most of her guru's great choreographies.

Apart from being an excellent performer, Srimati Sujata Mohapatra is also actively involved in teaching Odissi and she conducts workshops in various places around the world. At Srjan, the institute founded by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra for imparting training in Odissi, she works alongside her husband Ratikant Mohapatra to carry on their Guru’s legacy.

In recognition of her contribution to the field of Odissi, she has received the Pandit Jasraj Award from Mumbai, the Mahari Award from the Pankaj Charan Das Foundation, the second Sanjukta Panigrahi Award from Washington DC, the Raja award from Raja Foundation, New Delhi and the Aditya Birla Kala Kiran Award from Mumbai, among others. She is also Outstanding Category Artist in ICCR and Top Grade Artist of Doordarshan.

Presentation

Mangalacharan-traditionally the first item in the Odissi repertoire, is a dance invoking an aura of auspiciousness. The dancer makes her entry on to the stage, supplicating the blessings of Lord Jagannath and offering salutations to Mother Earth, the Guru, and the respected audience.

Batu-Batu Nritya is a pure dance offering in honour of Lord Batuka Bhairava, one of the 64 aspects of Lord Shiva. This dance item is redolent with sculpturesque poses describing such actions as the playing of the drum, veena, flute and cymbals. Intricate rhythmic patterns are also worked out elaborately in different passages of a continuing refrain, and no song or recitation is allowed in the accompaniment

Pallavi (Raag Kirvani)- Pallavi is a dance of pure joy. The essential melody of the raga blossoms forth into manifold elaborations. The steady beat of the tala slowly rises in ever-greater levels of complexity to a dizzying pace. Graceful and lyrical movements of the eyes, neck, hands, torso, and feet build one upon another to climax in an exhilarating crescendo.
This pallavi is named for the raga in which it is composed-Kirvani.
Raaga: Kirvani Taal: Khemta
Choreography-Padmavibhushan Guru KelucharanMohapatra
Music-Pandit Bhubaneswar Mishra

Abhinaya-Naba Durga (nine aspects of Durga). Abhinaya is an expressional in nature, a depiction of a bhava or deep emotion expressed in a song or lyric. The abhinaya provides ample scope to the dancer for delineating an emotion through the expressive artifices of mime –glances, hand gestures, sinuous movements of the body and the myriad uses of facial expression. Goddess Durga possessing the accumulated power of all the Gods, and out of her infinite compassion, she comes to the aid of those who supplicate her, slaying the fierce buffalo-headed demon Mahisha in battle, taking the epithet Mahashasura Mardini and killing Shumbha and Nishumbha, two demons. She has nine different names, which will be shown in this choreography.

DANCERS:
Sujata Mohapatra
Geetanjali Acharya
Swagatika Sahari
Sonali Mishra
Meghalee Mukherjee
Dali Basu
Radhika Samson
Arghya Chhattarjee
Soumya Bose

MUSICIANS:
Ramesh Chandra Das
Rupak Kumar Parida
Ekalabya Muduli
Soumya Ranjan Joshi

LIGHT DESIGN:
Jaydev Das