Madhulita Mohanty

🪔 About

Madhulita Mohapatra, born in 1978 in Bhawanipatna, Kalahandi district, Odisha, is a distinguished Indian classical Odissi dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Her early exposure to dance included Sambalpuri folk dance and initial Odissi training under Guru Krushna Chandra Sahoo at Kalahandi Kala Kendra. Driven by her passion, she moved to Bhubaneswar for higher education, where she received guidance from Guru Pabitra Kumar Pradhan. She further honed her skills at the Orissa Dance Academy, studying under the tutelage of eminent gurus such as Padmashri Guru Gangadhar Pradhan and Guru Smt. Aruna Mohanty. Mohapatra holds a Nrutya Acharya from Orissa Dance Academy and a Nrutya Shastri from Sangeet Natak Academy, alongside Masters degrees in Business Administration and Commerce. In 2008, Madhulita Mohapatra relocated to Bengaluru and established the Nrityantar Academy of Performing Arts, an institution dedicated to promoting and popularizing Odissi dance in South India. Through Nrityantar, she has nurtured numerous students and leads the Nrityantar Dance Ensemble, known for its innovative choreography and thematic productions like 'Colours of Krishna'. She is an empanelled artist of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and a graded performer on Doordarshan, regularly performing at prestigious festivals across India and internationally. Mohapatra also serves as a guest faculty member at Reva University, Bengaluru, teaching Odissi to master's students. She is the organizer of 'Naman', an annual Odissi dance festival in Bengaluru. Her significant contributions to Odissi have been recognized with several accolades, including the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for 2018 from the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi, the Kempegowda Award by the Karnataka Government, and the IIDF 2017. Other awards include the BCKA Yuva Kala Pratibha, GTF Women's Excellence award, IIW She Inspires Award 2024, Devi Awards Bhubaneswar 2024, Aarya Award for Women Achievers, and Arathi Kala Ratna. Awards & Honours: Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar (2018), Kempegowda Award, IIDF Award (2017), BCKA Yuva Kala Pratibha awards, GTF Women's Excellence award, IIW She Inspires Award (2024), Devi Awards Bhubaneswar (2024), Aarya Award for Women Achievers, Arathi Kala Ratna.