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Odissi Odyssey 2024

DATE: JULY 5-6 2024, 7:30 - 9:30 PM

VENUE: Open Door Studios, 3706 Central Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205

 

Mainstreaming Left: Celebrating the legacy of Guru Debaprasad Das 

This year, the Odissi Odyssey conference will focus on celebrating the Tantric influences, considered left of the spiritual center, in Odissi through the work and art of Guru Debaprasad Das style. The conference will also feature local dance educators and their students bridging UNC Charlotte Dance with the diasporic Indian community. The conference will feature choreography residency, summer dance intensives, performances, and assessment for K12. It is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts featuring innovations in the field of choreography in Indian dance and music.

 

Experience a festival celebrating dance education in the Indian diaspora. Honoring the legacy of Guru Debaprasad Das style of Odissi, this National Endowment for the Arts funded conference aims at bringing UNC Charlotte and Indian dance communities in the Carolinas together for greater exchange and mutual learning.

 

Featuring local artists, Pallavi Madabushi, Ramaa Manjrekar, Rituparna Mukherjee, and many others, this event aims at building an Indian dance community dedicated to artistic literacy.

 
Pallavi Madabushi striking a feminine pose in Kuchipudi
 
Artist Bios:
 
PALLAVI MADABUSHI
 
Pallavi Madabushi, a native of Hyderabad, Telangana comes from a lineage steeped in the arts of music and dance. Guided by her mother and  Guru Smt P.B. Krishna Bharathi, Pallavi has honed her skills over the years to become a proficient performer, choreographer, and instructor. Her journey has taken her to prestigious dance festivals in Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Dubai, and various states across the USA. Along the way, she has garnered several accolades, including the Singar Mani, Nrtiyaarchana, and GVR Foundation Youth Award along with an ICCRT scholarship from the Government of India in Kuchipudi. In 2019, Pallavi attained her Masters degree in Kuchipudi dance from the University of SiliconAndhra, CA.

With the support of her Guru and family, Pallavi continues her artistic journey, both as a performer and a dedicated teacher, imparting her knowledge of this ancient art form to the younger generation in Charlotte. She established the Pallavi Academy of Kuchipudi Dance (PAKD) in Charlotte, North Carolina, a pioneering institution dedicated to Kuchipudi in the city. PAKD offers comprehensive training from beginner to graduation levels, culminating in Rangapravesams. Beyond dance graduations, students at PAKD can undertake certificate and diploma courses through the Sampada certification program.Our fundamental principle is to preserve and transmit the heritage of Kuchipudi to the next generations in its unadulterated form.

RITUPARNA MUKHERJEE

Rituparna Mukherjee is a small town girl from India finished her masters in zoology and moved to USA after getting married to Dr Ari. As she was waiting for her husband to finish his p. HD so she can pursue her career her passion from childhood, which has been dance and music took over She started training college students for their festival of India Back in California, the week of her arrival and the journey that started back then never stopped she never looked back. 
 
Even though she did not get a chance to choose her profession, she doesn't regret.
Today, she's a mother of three at home and many more at her institute.
She  has been trained by multiple dance teachers and won multiple competitions. Dance had always been her passion, but now it is proudly, her profession.
She strongly believes in giving back to the community and has been a part of multiple fundraisers nationally and internationally.
 
 She  would love to continue being the connecting bridge between the next multiple generations so that they can get the best of both worlds.

BIDISHA MOHANTY

A skilled artist who has achieved several accolades in Indian Classical Odissi dance, Dr. Mohanty has earned distinction as the founder and artistic director of Indraadhanush: Center for Excellence. In this capacity, she focuses her efforts on teaching Odissi, semi-classical and Indian folk dance forms. The latest being, she was honored with an award from the International Odissi Dance Festival in December 2023, where she was invited as a guest artist.

Prior to establishing her institution, Dr. Mohanty worked as a software engineer and has moved over as a Senior Product Manager in a leading financial institution. Academically, she has a PhD and an MBA degree. To prepare for her professional journey, she earned a bachelor's degree from Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal in India in 1996 where she was honored with a Gold medal for her proficiency. Following this achievement, she obtained a Master of Arts in Odissi dance from Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh in 1999.