Bijayalaxmi Mohanty

🪔 About

Bijayalaxmi Mohanty is a distinguished Indian classical Odissi dancer, renowned for her contributions to the Guru Debaprasad Das gharana. She began her dance training at the tender age of three, initially under Guru Sudhakar Sahu, and subsequently became a prominent disciple of Guru Debaprasad Das. At just four years old, Mohanty achieved the distinction of being the first girl to perform the challenging Bandhya Nritya, a style characterized by its jelly-like postures and acrobatic skills. Her exceptional talent led her to perform in numerous festivals both within India and internationally. In 1975, she represented India as the youngest artist at the International Dance Festival in Paris and embarked on a European tour. The Government of India again sent her to France and Europe to perform Bandhya in 1979. However, due to physical ailments resulting from the rigorous demands of Bandhya dance, she was compelled to cease performing it around the 1980s. While she continued with Odissi, her stage appearances as a performing artist became infrequent after 1990, leading to a 15-year hiatus from the stage before 2014. Beyond her performing career, Mohanty also worked as a subject teacher in a central school. She has expressed her intention to establish a full-fledged Odissi school upon her retirement, aiming to impart her Guru's distinctive style, which emphasized abhinaya (expressive dance) and pure dance, rooted in thorough research for each choreography. Awards & Honours: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2012), Guru Debaprasad Das Award for Odissi (2014).