The Odissi Profiles: Srinwanti Chakrabarti

Even in her childhood the Srinwanti Chakrabarti had a penchant for dancing and she was inducted into the Odissi dance form at the tender age of five. Srinwanti has been pursuing the Gharana of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra for last 18 years. Srinwanti finds life in the rhythm of Odissi and she has dedicated herself to the arduous practice of this classical genre. The prodigy has acquired a high level of expertise in her teens.

She has been initially guided and groomed by Smt. Sutapa Talukdar and Smt. Nandini Ghosal. The intrinsic talents of Srinwanti flourished under the tutelage of legendary figure Late Padmavibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra that helped her immensely in learning the intricacies of the dance form. Rhythm of her dance becomes vibration of her life and it has become possible for her dedication and determination. Srinwanti is the artistic director of the institute SRIJATI – A CENTRE FOR ARTS AND CULTURE. Srinwanti has proved herself to be an efficient dance teacher in conducting workshops in England, at Sangeet Bhawan, Visvabharati University, Shantiniketan etc. and taking classes in Kolkata. She has proved her excellence in her choreographic compositions too, which has been highly appreciated. Presently she is pursuing Dance Therapy to extend dance for therapeutic services. She has also shown her mettle in research work in the paper which she has written called “Hindu Temple Women (Devdasi) The Divine Prostitution”.

Her devotion to Odissi is evident in the number of prestigious performances she has given inside the country, to name a few in the states of Delhi, Haryana, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal. Crossing the national boundaries, Srinwanti proved her excellence in international level too, she has given a series of performances in United States of America and Canada, where she has been highly appreciated in 2005. She has conducted several dance workshops and lecture demonstrations throughout United Kingdom in 2006. Srinwanti has also given many dance recitals at London, Basingstoke, Southampton, Winchester, Bracknell, Eastbourne, Fareham, Andover, Fleet, Alton, Chichester, Peter’s Field, Walton on Thames etc. in England 2006.She also worked for few months in England 2007 presenting new choreographic compositions and productions in Choreographer’s conference, giving performances and conducting workshops .