East Indian Odissi Dance
Nandita Behera, Master Artist
Sharanya Mukhopadhyay, Apprentice

Originating in the temples of Eastern India in the second century B.C., Odissi is a classical dance form combining rhythmic and vigorous body and foot movements with dramatics. Master teacher Nandita Behera, who has international performance experience and fame and is the artistic director of Odissi Dance Circle in Cerritos, trained in India for 25 years with her teachers, Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra and Guru Gangadhar Pradhan, before coming to the United States in 1988. At 14, Sharanya Mukhopadhyay is already recognized as an Odissi dancer exceptionally gifted for her age. The master will help the apprentice prepare two traditional compositions based on episodes from the legends of Krishna, the most celebrated hero in Hindu mythology, and his divine wife, Radha.

"I am committed to the promotion of this traditional art form to the Western World..... Odissi is my prayer and my profession. It is my life." -- Nandita Behera Photo courtesy of Nandita Behera

"I am learning this traditional art form from my Guru Nandita Behera. I started learning at age six in California. However, I have visited the place where this art form originated, Orissa, several times." --Sharanya Mukhopadhyay Photo courtesy of Sharanya Mukhopadhyay

Master artist Nandita Behera (on right) gives pointers to her student Sharanya during practice

 

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