Aditi Bandyopadhyay is well known in the field of classical Odissi dance, both as a performer and choreographer.
She trained under the tutelage of late Padmabibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra, Guru Giridhari Nayak, Smt Amala Shankar, and more presently under Guru Smt Sutapa Talukdar. Her parents Indrani and Asok Bandyopadhyay who were great conoisseurs of art had always been her sole inspiration.
Aditi is a physician who has a graduate degree in medicine and surgery (MBBS) from Calcutta National Medical College, Calcutta University. Presently she is completing a Master's degree in Public Health at the University of Missouri, Columbia.
Aditi has been widely appreciated for her solo dance recitals in India and in different parts of the world, and has choreographed several dance productions of her own. Her own productions, Teen Katha and Sri Krishna Prem Gatha, have received immense appreciation at prestigious music conferences. She is the creative director of Nrityaneer, a dance institution she founded, and has presented a number of dance recitals in India with her dance troupe. She has also worked with mentally challenged children through the medium of dance and music.
In 1998, Aditi was invited to Sweden and Denmark, where she presented several solo dance recitals and conducted two dance workshops. She was felicitated by the Indian ambassador in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Aditi's solo performance and dance choreographies with her students have featured on Indian television (Doordarshan), and her dance has been appreciated by press critics in different leading newspapers and magazines.
She is the recipient of the M. P. Birla special talent award (1996), Jadubhatta Purashkar (1998) and was honoured by Indian Museum in 1997, Indian ambassador in Copenhagen (1998).
Currently, Aditi is settled in Columbia, Missouri, USA, with her husband Dr Subharup Guha and her two year old son, Ishan. She is continuing her solo performances and choreographic presentations in mid Missouri with her students.
Aditi is presently the President and dance instructor of MUDRA (MU Dance and Recreation Association ) an organization dedicated to promotion of Indian Classical dance under the University of Missouri Columbia. Aditi and her students are performing their choreographies regularly in mid Missouri region and conducting workshops and working on collaborative choreography with other classical dance forms from different parts of the world.
Aditi and her students at MUDRA have successfully presented different stage shows all over the mid- west region in the last two years. MUDRA ia also organizing different stage shows by dancers from all over the world on the campus of University of Missouri. Aditi has also started working on the connection between dance and Yoga or movement therapy and desires to work with children with special needs. Detailed information on MUDRA is available at the following link.
http://mudra.students.missouri.edu/
A few words on Odissi
Odissi dance originated in the 2nd century B.C. in the region of modern Orissa, an eastern state of India. It began as a religious dance which required special education and arduous training. The dance was performed in the temples of Orissa and dedicated to the deity of Lord Jagannath and performed only by female Odissi dancers known as Devdasis. For quite a long time this sacred dance form was confined only to the temples. Sculpture-like poses engraved on the temple walls demonstrated the style of dance. For a long time this dance form was kept away from public viewing due to socio-religious reasons. Young male dancers known as Gotipuas sustained the tradition of Odissi alive and performed in front of common people.
Since the earlier part of the last century, Odissi came back from its seclusion and many dancers began to take interest in this dance form. Odissi is characterised by symmetrical movements and finds its expressions in kaleidoscopic designs. Its rich text has contributions from works of great Indian poets like Jaydev, Banamali Das, Vidyapati, and many others. This dance form has been presented to the world by great maestros like Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra, Guru Pankajcharan Das, Guru Debaprasad Das, Sanjukta Panigrahi, Sonal Mansingh,and many other stalwarts in this field. Their able disciples are still continuing active research in this field and are presenting us with great choreographic innovations.