Rashmi Rekha Das
Shreepunya is an exuberant and vivacious young Odissi dancer from Bhubaneswar who aims at popularising Odissi across the globe with a strong message that dance is not just an art, but also includes spiritualism
A leading young talent in the field of Odissi today, Shreepunya Mohanty is known for her technical virtuosity and creative approach to tradition. She is blessed to groom her talents under the tutelage of Odissi exponents Aruna Mohanty and Yudhistir Nayak. Shreepunya is young, yet she carries the confidence and maturity of a mature individual. Her style is meticulous and effortless. The danseuse has mastered every aspect of music and dance, and yet she gives the impression of nonchalance. Her devotion to her chosen vocation is genuine. By her own admission, Shreepunya eats, drinks and even dreams dance. She has played a stellar role in popularising Odissi across India. Orissa Post talks to the budding yet popular artist about her bond with the traditional dance form.
She is, undoubtedly, a born classical dancer. One can affirm that dance runs in her arteries and veins. She was just three when she expressed her interest in this dance form. Reminiscing her childhood, Shreepunya says, “I still remember that my neighbour had a dance academy where the next door aunty taught Odissi to students. My parents used to leave me there whenever they had to go somewhere. Seeing the dance steps and mudras of Odissi, I was fascinated by the dance form at the age of three. Her classes mesmerised me. I could not stop tapping my feet to the rhythm. So I began taking secret lessons from my neighbourly aunty, who noticed my growing interest in dance and asked my parents to let me learn Odissi dance. Since then I have never looked back. Now, I have 15 years of experience in the field.”
Talking about the awards she has received so far, a recipient of junior national scholarship and governor awards says “People often ask about awards and what they call my ‘finest performances’, but I don’t look at those things as achievements. It’s definitely wonderful to be acknowledged, and I feel very fortunate for being recognised for my work fairly early in my life. But it’s not what I measure success by. I connect to the Almighty and express myself before Him through the medium of dance. I find inner peace in doing so. You can say these feelings are my biggest achievement.”
A second-year student of Plus III course at BJB College, Shreepunya tours extensively to perform at various prestigious festivals across India as well as abroad. Recently, she visited China to perform in a dance festival there. When asked how she feels about taking Odissi to a global level, she says “My goal is to attain perfection in Odissi and pass it on to the next generation of learners in its pristine form. I regret that younger generation is not very interested in the classical dance form. My aim is to spread it across the globe. There is nothing wrong in following western dance forms, but, at the same time, we should not forget our ancient dance form. We should feel proud of Orissa and Odissi.”
Asked what she likes most about Odissi, Shreepunya says, “I try to combine grace and spontaneity in my steps, because if you lose any one of these two qualities, the other suffers inevitably. Moreover, specifics like ‘chuka’, ‘trivangi’, ‘bhanga’, and ‘atibhanga’ make the dance form unique.”
Talking about her memorable moments as a dancer, she says, “I performed at International Dance Festival held in the state capital last year. Soon after my performance, the audience gave me a standing ovation. The pride and happiness I saw in my guru’s eyes is unforgettable”
“I would like to attribute my success to parents Chandrakant and Minati Mohanty. Whatever I am today is because of them. My first encouragement came from them. My father has been a constant support,” the danseuse signs off.
