Debanjali Biswas

🪔 About

Debanjali Biswas is a distinguished Indian classical Manipuri dancer, choreographer, performer, and an accomplished early career researcher in performance studies and social anthropology. She has received extensive training in classical Manipuri dance, commencing in 1992 under the tutelage of Vidushi Smt. Poushali Chatterjee, specializing in the late Oja Bipin Singh's style. Her training was further enriched by instructions in various subgenres of Manipuri from eminent gurus including Padmashri Smt. Darshana Jhaveri of the Jhaveri Sisters troupe, Prof. Sruti Bandopadhyay of Sangit Bhavana, Visva-Bharati University, SNA Awardee Oja Thiyam Suryamukhi Devi, and Manipur State Kala Akademi Awardee Oja Ranjeet Chingtham Khuman from Imphal, Manipur. Biswas holds a Nritya Visharad in Manipuri from Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh, and a Diploma in classical and contemporary dance and stagecraft from Children's Little Theatre, Kolkata. As a performer, she has presented her dance at numerous festivals across India and in international venues in Bangladesh, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. She is an empanelled artist with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and a co-director, performer, and choreographer with the performance collaborative Mitradheya. She has also been an active member of Nandanik Movement Arts, Kolkata, since its inception in 1996. Academically, Debanjali Biswas completed her PhD in performance studies and cultural anthropology at King's College London on a Commonwealth Scholarship. She holds a Master of Philosophy and a Master of Arts in Theatre & Performance Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, and a Master of Arts in Social Anthropology from SOAS, UK. Her research focuses on the intersections of performance, marginality, precarity, and resistance, with a long-term ethnographic interest in indigenous communities in Northeast India. She has authored and edited significant publications, including the anthology "Nachom: Exploring Harmony through Manipuri Dance Writings" (2024) and articles in "The Routledge Companion to Northeast India" (2022) and "South Asian Dance Intersections" (2023). She is currently based in London, UK. Awards & Honours: Commonwealth Scholarship, British Academy Small Research Grant, TaPRA Research Fellow, Grantee.