My journey as a performer

My first opportunity to perform Odissi on a professional stage was in 1999 as part of Kiran Segal’s dance group. I continued dancing as a member of my guru’s group until 2013, performing at the prestigious Khajuraho Dance Festival, Konark Dance Festival, the Festival of New Choreographies, the Qutb Festival, and at several other venues in India and overseas. I presented my Manch Pravesh in 2006 at the India International Centre and have subsequently presented solo recitals of traditional Odissi repertoire at the National Centre for Performing Arts (Mumbai), Bharat Bhavan (Bhopal), International Odissi Festival (Bhubaneswar), and India Habitat Centre (New Delhi), to mention a few. I have also presented performances for the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Sahitya Kala Parishad.

Since 2016, I have worked with different choreographers in Canada, participating in performing and developing new work in a collaborative capacity. Among these is ‘Winged’, a duet with Dali Basu, choreographed by Sonia St-Michel, which was developed across India and North America between 2021 and 2024, and premiered in Delhi with the support of Ashoka University and Oddbird Theatre in 2024. I have also danced in the choreographic works of Kiran Segal, Rajendra Gangani, Nova Bhattacharya, Lee Su-Feh, and others.