NRITYAGRAM is India's first modern Gurukul (residential school) for Indian classical dances and an intentional community in the form of a dance village, set up by Odissi dancer Protima Gauri in 1990. The residential school offers training in Indian classical dance forms, Odissi, Mohiniattam, Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali and Manipuri, eight hours a day, six days a week for seven years, following the ancient Guru-shishya tradition. Designed by famous Indian architect Gerard da Cunha, the community is situated near Hesaraghatta Lake 30 km from Bengaluru.Today the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble has performed across India and in many countries abroad.

IT IS A COMMUNITY of dancers in a forsaken place amidst nature. A place where nothing exists, except dance. A place where you breathe, eat, sleep, dream, talk, imagine - dance. A place where all the five senses can be refined to perfection. A place where dancers drop negative qualities such as jealousy, small-mindedness, greed and malice to embrace their colleagues as sisters and support each other in their journey towards becoming dancers of merit."

-Founder Protima Gauri's own words

Village

AT NRITYAGRAM, dance is a way of life.

We are committed to the highest standards of
excellence in dance,
training and practice,
research and experimentation,
creation and performance,
preservation and popularization.

We aspire to be a dynamic artistic community that practices and upholds the holistic traditions associated with the classical arts of India. A place that nurtures artistic growth and exchange, and enables deeper connections between people and art, beyond political, social and cultural differences.

Established May 1990

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School

NRITYAGRAM is dedicated to creating excellence in Odissi through the traditional method of learning, the *Guru-Shishya Parampara*, referred to as Mentorship in modern times.

The Guru’s home, Nrityagram, is the centre of learning where dancers from all over the world live, in an atmosphere that nurtures excellence. Learning is a way of life and students have a rare opportunity to imbibe the spirit of the Gurus by living with them and observing them at work, which is their meditation, love and passion.

For more than two decades, Guru Surupa Sen and Guru Bijayini Satpathy have researched and expanded the vocabulary of Odissi dance and have developed a style that distinguishes the dancers of the Nrityagram School.

With a student strength of over 200, we provide an environment that fosters the artistic, intellectual and personal growth of our dancers and prepares them for successful and productive lives as artists and citizens, as well as to become leaders in their professions.

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Ensemble

THE 1996 NEW YORK DEBUT of the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble, with Surupa Sen, Bijayini Satpathy, Anitha Nair, Pavithra Reddy and Jaya Mukherjee was called, "one of the most luminous dance events of the year" by Jennifer Dunning, the dance critic of the New York Times. After its New York debut, the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble has performed to sold-out shows in Hawai and Bozeman, USA, Middle East, Far East and Europe, and in time created a niche for itself in the world of dance. Today, apart from lead dancer-choreographers, Surupa Sen and Bijayini Satpathy, Pavitra Reddy, Rasmi Raj and Manasi Tripathy are the other permanent dancers of the Ensemble, and are accompanied by musicians like Swain playing the percussion instrument, Mardala, Srinibas Satapathy’s on Bamboo flute (Bansuri) and Sanjib Kumar Kunda on the violin. Its first full-length production "Sri - In Search of the Goddess", was premiered in Delhi in 2001 and in the United States in 2002-2003, to critical acclaim. Since then it created several productions including, "Ansh", "Sacred Space" (2005), and "Separation and the Duality of the human spirit" (2008)

BY 2008, THE ENSEMBLE had made 12 tours of the US, its 2006 production, Vibhakta (The Division), by Surupa Sen which was performed together by Surupa Sen, the artistic director, and Bijayini Satpathy was enlisted in the "The Ten Best Dance Performances of 2008" by dance critic Joan Acocella of the The New Yorker. And prior to it in February 2008, the Ensemble had the world premiere of "Pratima: Reflection", at New York City, Joyce Theater. It has also performed at Pittsburgh Dance Council (2002). As of 2010, the ensemble members included, Surupa Sen, Bijayini Satpathy, Pavithra Reddy, Rasmi Raj and Manasi Tripathy.

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