Bhagyachandra National Festival of Classical Dance 2011 : Part 3
A brief about the Festival

Organizers *

IX Bhagyachandra National festival of Classical dance held on 11 November 2011 at Kangla, Imphal

A brief about the artistes performing on November 12

Madhusmita Mohanty

Mohanty inherited art from her parents and was initiated into Odissi dance by Guru Tamala Patra at the tender age of six. She was trained at the Orissa Dance Academy, Bhubaneswar, under Guru Bichitrananda Swain, Guru Aruna Mohanty and Guru Gangadhar Pradhan. She completed Alankar Poorna in Odissi from Akhil Bhartiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal, Mumbai. Mohanty has performed in festivals like Kal-Ke-Kalakar Sammelan, Mumbai; Kaivara National Dance & Music Festival, Bangalore; Konark Festival; Pallavotsava, Mysore; Pollachi Festival, Tamilnadu; Odissi Nrityotsav, Swarna Samaroh and Swarna Nritya Prativa, Delhi; Kalidas Samaroh, Ujjain; Ananya, New Delhi; 2nd&3rd International Odissi Festival held in USA & Bhubaneswar respectively; and International Folklore Festival, Croatia.

She worked with Bharatanatyam exponent Leela Samson and performed Odissi in Beijing and Shanghai, China. She also performed at the prestigious John F. Kennedy Center, Washington D.C. She has several laurels to her credit, including Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2007; 'Shringarmani' conferred by Sur Singar Samsad, Mumbai; and Padmashree Sanjukta Panigrahi Prativa Samman awarded to her by USA based Nrityalay. An empanelled Artist of ICCR, New Delhi, Madhusmita has trained many young learners at the Orissa Dance Academy. She had conducted classes at the International Workshop of Indian Art, Bhopal and the Center for World Music, USA.

Ramesh Chandra Jena

Jena was trained at the Orissa Dance Academy, Bhubaneshwar under Guru Bichitrananda Swain and Guru Gangadhar Pradhan. He completed Sangeet Visharad in Odissi from Pracheen Kalakendra, Chandigarh. Jena had performed in festivals such as Odissi Nrityostav and Swarna Samaroh, New Delhi; Pollachi Dance Festival, Tamil Nadu; Konark Festival; Kalidas Samaroh, Ujjain; Youth Festival, Orissa; Uttaradhikar Festival, Jabalpur; Ananya, New Delhi; and Sampoorna Geeta Govinda Utsav, New Delhi.

He performed at the IInd International Odissi Festival, U.S.A.; IIIrd International Odissi Festival, Bhubaneshwar; International Folklore Festival, Croatia; and presented dance recitals in U.K., France, Croatia, Italy, Germany, Slovakia, Serbia & Montenegro, and U.S.A. He also performed at the prestigious John F. Kennedy Center, Washington D.C. Jena had given training to students at the Orissa Dance Academy, Bhubaneswar. He conducted dance classes at Pondicherry, Auroville and Chennai as well as in U.S.A. and France. He imparted training as a Visiting Teacher at the Center for World Music, U.S.A. from 2007-2008.

Pallavi Krishnan

Pallavi is a leading exponent of Mohiniyattam, and is known for her tremendous efforts to promote and preserve this style of Indian classical dance as a living tradition. She is a product of Santiniketan and Kerala Kalamandalam, two prestigious art academies of the country. Initially Pallavi was trained in Kathakali and Mohiniyattam under Guru Kalamandalam Sanakaranarayanan at Santiniketan. Her passion for Mohiniyattam led her to advanced training at Kerala Kalamandalam. Pallavi has performed and conducted Mohiniyattam residencies extensively in India, and in countries like Australia, Canada, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, UK, and China among others. As an artiste, Pallavi has developed a style marked by creativity in her performance.

She is equally at ease in exhibiting both adavu and abhinaya. This had made her the most sought after Mohiniyattam performer and a trendsetter for many young dancers the world over, motivating them to take up this art form professionally. In addition to her prowess as a soloist, her thematic group choreographies include 'The Seasons', that blend the Sopana Sangeetam tradition of Kerala and the Rabindra Sangeet of West Bengal.

It earned rave reviews from veteran dance critics. Among other honours, she is recipient of Kerala's Sangeeta Nataka Academi Award for Mohiniyattam, 2008. Since 1994, she is the Artistic Director of Lasya Akademi of Mohiniyattam, a centre for the promotion and professional training in Mohiniyattam, at Trichur (Kerala) with a branch in Kolkata (West Bengal). She is also the director of 'Lasyotsavam', one of the few leading dance festivals of Kerala.

Pukhrambam Bilash Singh

Pukhrambam Bilash was nurtured at the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy under the guidance of Guru Thingbaijam Babu Singh, Guru Smt.Thouranisabi Devi, Guru M.Kaminikumar Singh and Guru P.Iboton Singh. He also took ballet lessons from Kh. Chaotombi Singh, W.Lokendrajit Singh, Th.Surjamukhi Devi and N.Amusana Devi under the JNMDA's Production Unit. With Diplomas in Thang-Ta and Lai Haraoba, Bilash has honed in his skill in both martial art and dance

He took part in several ballets of the JNMDA, such as Keibul Lamjao, Meghdoot, Lei Langba, Freedom Fighter, Kabui Keioiba, Wainu Pareng, Moirangsa, Loktak Eshei, Phool Yudha, Radha Sati and Nongdol Leima. Bilash had performed at the Cultural Exchange Programme, Goa; Konark Festival, Khajuraho Dance Festival, and Uday Shankar Shatabdi Samaroh, New Delhi. He also performed at the 50 Years of India Independence Celebration, South Africa; The Queen's Golden Jubilee, Edinburg; Glimpses of Indian Days in Korea, Seoul; and Festival of 150th Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore in Bangladesh.

To be continued ....