BHUBANESWAR: With mastery over three classical dances of India Odissi, Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, Odia dancer Subhashree Pattnaik claims to be one of the few kaleidoscopic dancers of the state and country.
Daughter of Bhramarbar and Charubala Patnaik, Subhashree has done her Master’s degree in Odissi dance and was the gold medallist in Utkal Sangeeta Mahavidyalaya, Bhubaneswar. She holds a Master’s degree in Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam too. Committed to spread the amalgamation of Indian classical dances across the globe, she has already made several strides in this regard.
Interacting with Orissa Post, Patnaik said, “I was only four when I started dancing to the beats of Odissi music aired over radio at my home. My elder sister Rajashree inspired me to pursue Odissi which led me to the world of classical dance.”
Having already formed Nrutyadham Dance Academy which organises Nrutyadham All-India Classical Dance festival, she is also an A-grade artiste of Doordarshan. Guru Sneha Prava Samantray was her first teacher at Sangeet Mahavidalaya while Odissi maestro Durga Charan Ranvir is her current Guru. She also had the privilege to learn from Late Odissi Guru Gangadhar Pradhan.
Her dance reflects artistry, technique and articulateness which at times mystify her spectators. When queried what made her pursue both Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi, she said, “Bharatnatyam is my first love that led me to the tutelage of eminent Dancer Pashumurthy Ramalingam Shastri and Shruti Vinodini in the year 2012.”
Later, she learned Kuchipudi from Telegu University at Hyderabad in 2014 from leading Kuchipudi teachers D Balaji Kumar and Padmashri Sobha Naidu.
She said, “Dance is ‘sadhana’ (penance) which never lets me mingle my steps during performance as I have to perform three different forms of dance on a single platform. Each dance form describes emotions in different ‘Mudaras’ and Laya.” Her choreography for Odissi songs like ‘Oh Sambhu’ and ‘Maheswari’ in diverse folk art forms has earned her rave reviews from stalwarts of the fraternity.
Personally, she loves to perform ‘Abhinay’ and ‘Pallavi’ in Odissi form, ‘Sabdam’, ‘Jatiswaram’ and ‘Bhamakalapam’ in Kuchipudi and ‘Tilana’, ‘Barnam’ and ‘Padam’ in Bharatnatyam. Recently, she performed ‘Tarangam’, a Bharatnatyam performce on ‘Krishna leela’ on a brasso plate for 45 minutes without any rest. Her academy trains around 60 students presently.
On being queried about budding dancers, she said, “Aspirants should learn every part of classical dance intricately. Only then should they schools or teach others.” Besides receiving a doctorate in Odissi dance from Utkal University of Culture, she has received numerous other recognitions like Natyakala Award, Deba Prasad Smruti Sanman and Baisakhi Award among others.
